Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president Kamal Haasan on Monday met Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Irai Anbu and submitted a petition urging the government to institute Area Sabha and Ward Committee in urban local bodies.
The Tamil Nadu government passed the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Amendment) Act 2010, which paves way for Area Sabha and Ward Committee to be instituted for participative democracy in Corporation and Municipalities, the petition said. It also noted that the amendment has not been implemented and the rules are yet to be formed and notified. Almost half of Tamil Nadu’s population lives in urban local bodies and they are being denied participative democracy, it added.
The amendment recommends Area Sabha and Ward Committee only for Corporations and Municipalities. Town panchayat has been excluded from this amendment. We request the Tamil Nadu government to address this exclusion, the petition said.
