Page 2 - Rural Local Bodies

Empowering panchayats

Local bodies need more predictable revenue flows

No proposal to raise reservation for OBCs in local body polls: Govt in RS

The Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that there was no proposal to increase reservation for Other Backward Castes as per population in the local body elections. Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil, during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, said OBCs are provided one-third reservation under Article 243D of the Constitution. "However, 21 state governments have increased the reservation up to 50 per cent. The member has sought increasing the reservation for OBCs as per the population in the local body elections. There is no such proposal before us," he said. In local bodies, there is a 50 per cent reservation for women. Under this quota, there is a provision to accommodate OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Patil added. However, the state governments have the right to provide reservations for OBCs. "On this subject, the states should take a call at their level," the Union minister said while replying to another supplementary question.

Healthcare will improve with help of urban local bodies: Sudhansh Pant

The state of healthcare services will improve substantially with the participation of urban local bodies in delivering them, Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant said on Friday. Pant made the remark at a national urban health conclave on "developing a joint roadmap for strengthening health systems resilience" here. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Manoj Joshi was also present. Addressing the gathering, the health secretary highlighted the pressing need for strengthening the primary and secondary healthcare network in urban areas. Citing the significant impact of urban local bodies (ULBs) in Maharashtra and Gujarat in delivering high-quality healthcare services, he said, "The state of healthcare services will improve substantially with the involvement and participation of ULBs in delivering them and at the same time it will make the healthcare services more affordable and accessible to urban dwellers." Commending the convergence of efforts between the Ministry of Heal

49.33% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm in UP urban local body polls

A voter turnout of 49.33 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Thursday in the final phase of the urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh, with the Samajwadi Party alleging that supporters of the ruling BJP were indulging in election malpractices, especially in Kannauj. The polling began at 7 am in Meerut, Ghaziabad, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly, Aligarh, Kanpur, and Ayodhya. Polling was going on smoothly with 57.60 per cent turnout in Ayodhya, 46.20 per cent in Aligarh, 50.93 per cent in Etawah, 60.87 per cent in Gautam Buddh Nagar, 41.92 per cent in Ghaziabad, 46.40 per cent in Kanpur and 46.75 per cent in Bareilly till 5 pm, the election office said. Officials also said that voters, who have lined up at the polling centres till 6.00 pm, will be allowed to cast their votes. In a series of tweets, the main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) accused members of the ruling party of indulging in fake voting in the Gursahaiganj polling booth of Kannauj. It also alleged that BJP MP Subrat Pathak a

AAP unveils UP poll plan, promises waivers in water and house tax

The AAP on Sunday unveiled its election plank for urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh, promising to halve house taxes and waive water taxes in municipal bodies it wins. AAP MP Sanjay Singh, the party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge, launched the party's slogan -- "House Tax Half, Water Tax Maaf" -- to woo the electorate during a visit to Lucknow. He also declared in-charges for 633 urban local body seats in Uttar Pradesh and said the party will contest from every constituency. During his visit, Singh called the ED (Enforcement Directorate) the "Entertainment Department" and alleged that central agencies are being misused to target the opposition. Singh said the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has accepted the report of the commission set up to look into the issue of reservation to Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in urban local body polls and expressed hope that the government will soon announce the election dates, he said. The party will reach out to the public and ask them to give the AAP an ..

Auditing of local bodies key as India aims to touch $5 trn economy: CAG

Murmu also pointed out that digitisation and expanded use of technology and artificial intelligence have brought its own challenges

How to pay MCD property tax online? A step-by-step guide to the procedure

Property tax is one of the major sources of revenue for local governments/Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)

FinMin releases Rs 4,189 cr as rural local bodies grant to five states

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday said it has released Rs 4,189 crore to five states for providing grants to the rural local bodies. "The Department of Expenditure (has) released an amount of Rs 4,189.58 crore to Karnataka (Rs 628.07 crore), Tripura (Rs 44.10 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 2,239.80 crore), Andhra Pradesh (Rs 569.01 crore) and Gujarat (Rs 708.60 crore) for providing grants to the Rural Local Bodies," an official statement said. This grant is based on the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission and are released to the states as per the advice of the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation for making improvements in two services -- sanitation and maintenance of Open-Defecation Free (ODF) status and supply of drinking water, rain water harvesting and water recycling. The states are required to transfer the grants to the local bodies within 10 working days of receipt from the Union Government. Any delay beyond 10 working days requires the state governments to ...

Gadkari bats for qualitative reforms in local self-govt bodies' functioning

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday called for qualitative reforms in the functioning of local self-government bodies, which he said will save money and improve quality. Speaking at the convocation ceremony of the All India Institute of Local Self Government, Gadkari stressed the need for coordination between technology and education. He lamented the lack of quality in the functioning of the municipal administration and said technical qualifications in works must improve. Gadkari also called for improving the standard of Detailed Project Report (DPR) of management consultants hired for municipal works. He appealed to municipal administrations to work on solid and liquid waste management, developing a tree bank and adopting the "waste to wealth" concept. Gadkari said performance audit of municipalities was a must.

Finance Ministry releases Rs 13,386 cr to 25 states as grant to RLBs

The Finance Ministry on Tuesday said it has released about Rs 13,386 crore to 25 states for providing grants to rural local bodies (RLBs).

Centre releases Rs 8,923.8 cr to 25 states for grant to rural local bodies

The Union Finance Ministry, on the recommendation of the Panchayati Raj Ministry, released Rs 8,923.8 crore to 25 states for providing grant to rural local bodies.

Second Covid wave: Migrants going back can spice up panchayat polls in UP

The UP panchayat polls will be held in four phases in 75 districts from April 15. Return of migrants has added another dimension

FinMin releases Rs 12,351 cr to 18 states for rural local bodies grant

The Finance Ministry said it has released Rs 12,351 crore to 18 states for providing grants to the rural local bodies

Engines of growth: Cities 25 years after 74th amendment

For 20-odd cities, compiled data from Janaagraha shows the share of own-tax revenue in the entire revenue is slowly and steadily rising