‘Roads will not get dug soon after being built if 74th Constitution Amendment Act is implemented’

Ayodhya: Roads will not get dug for laying water and sewage lines immediately after they are built if all urban civic bodies were to operate under one mayor as per the provisions of the 74 Constitution (Amendment) Act, Agra Mayor Navin Jain said on Sunday.

Jain made the remark while addressing a two-day convention of all mayors from all over the country here in Ayodhya.

Ruing that the 74 Constitution (Amendment) Act has not been implemented across the country despite having been notified nearly three decades ago in April 1993, he also demanded Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to enforce it all over the state.

In some Indian cities, the 74th amendment is in force and somewhere not, he said, addressing the convention as its chairperson.

The 74 Constitution (Amendment) Act seeks to provide a common framework for the structure and mandate of urban local bodies to enable them to function as effective and synchronised democratic units of local self-government.

“There are wide discrepancies even in the election of mayors across the country. Some mayors are directly elected by the people and some indirectly by corporators,” he said.

“Even the terms for mayors in office sharply varies, ranging from one year to five years,” he pointed out.

“When the 74th amendment will be implemented, it will be easy to provide civic amenities to the public as all departments will then get interlinked with each other — water corporation, municipal corporation, development authority,” he said.

“When the functions of all civic bodies will get synchronised, different development activities will be implemented in a better way,” said Jain.

“Roads will then not get dug for laying water and sewage lines immediately after they are built,” he added.

The convocation, organised by Ayodha municipal body, was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Minister Ashutosh Tandon.