CM Himanta suggests party-less panchayat and municipal polls

GOVERNMENT LAYS THRUST ON URBANIZATION

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Panchayat and municipal board/corporation polls should be party-less polls. Candidates should contest these polls without party symbol, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Addressing media persons in Guwahati today, the Chief Minister proposed the idea of candidates contesting the panchayat and municipal boards/corporations polls without any political party's symbol. He said that the party-less system of panchayat polls exists in 2-3 states of the country.

"In the panchayat level, there are many capable people who are interested in working for the society's development. But they do not want to contest the panchayat and municipal board/corporation polls under the banner of any political party. If we introduce the party-less system in the panchayat and municipal board/corporation polls, such people will come forward to contest the polls, and if they win, they will do a lot of work for the development of the society," said Sarma. He appealed to all political parties to contemplate this. "If needed we can have a public debate on this party-less system of panchayat polls," he added.

Regarding the upcoming elections to the municipal boards across the State, the Chief Minister appealed to all political parties to give tickets to people with positive thinking.

"Before February 10, the dates for the municipal polls will be announced. The Majuli bye-election has also been announced and in April, the elections to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) will be held. I appeal to people to take the double dose of COVID vaccination before getting involved in the election-related works," said the Chief Minister.

The Assam Government, said the Chief Minister, is laying stress on urbanization, because, without urbanization, no state can develop. "If we want a modern Assam, we have to give the urban areas a facelift," said Sarma. Till now, the government was giving more importance to the development of the rural areas, more government schemes have been implemented in the rural areas. But unless the urban areas are modernized, the State's economic development is not possible. So the government has now laid stress on infrastructural development in the urban areas and for this many schemes are being taken up," he said.

The Chief Minister further announced that now every district headquarter will have an integrated Deputy Commissioner's (DC) office campus which will include offices of all government departments. Once this happens, urban infrastructures will come up in the office premises which become vacant. Also, jails will be relocated from towns to the outskirts and urban infrastructure projects will be taken up in the jail campuses after they are vacated, like the Old Jail campus at Fancy Bazar in Guwahati and the Jorhat Central Jail.

Sarma said that a stadium would come up in every district near the DC's office. This will be done to promote sports activities among the youth. He also laid stress on garbage recycling and solid waste management. "This has already started in Guwahati. Waste management projects will be taken up in other towns as well," he said.

Posts of key officers in the municipal boards will now be upgraded to State-level cadre and these posts will become transferable. Sarma also said that soon it will be possible for people to get their house holding number through an online process. They will just have to update all necessary documents online. Similarly, the process for building permission will also become online. Permission will be granted for construction up to G+2 storeys, people will just have to upload all required documents online.

The Chief Minister said that the government recently increased the rate of government land circle-wise. People can buy or sell land at a rate less than the land value fixed by the government. But, he said, they must pay the stamp duty as fixed by the government. He also said that land premium will be reduced for landless people who are allotted government land in and around the town areas, so that economically weak people can also get land registered in their names.

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