After fixing educational and other criteria for contesting panchayat polls, Haryana Government on Tuesday went a step ahead and decided to fix qualifications for contesting the elections to Urban local Bodies as well.
A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting of State Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar lal here. It decided to amend Section 13-A of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 and Section-8 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994.
As per the amendment, those persons against whom charges have been framed by the competent court for grave criminal offences punishable by not less than 10 years imprisonment will be debarred from contesting the elections till they are acquitted.
Similarly, defaulters of Co-operative loans and defaulters of arrears of electricity bills will also be debarred from contesting elections. Apart from this, qualification has been prescribed as Secondary class pass for all levels of the elected representatives of the Urban local Bodies.
As a step towards affirmative action for ensuring that women and scheduled caste voters are not placed in an extremely disadvantageous position, a minimum educational qualification for women and scheduled caste candidates have been fixed as middle class and for scheduled caste women candidates as 5th class. Besides, all the candidates contesting the elections to Urban local Bodies have to file a declaration that they have the provision of a functional toilet at the residence.
At present, there is a disqualification for contesting the elections of Urban local Bodies by those who have been convicted by the courts, but there are instances where persons against whom charges have been framed but trial is not completed, are able to contest elections. The amendment in the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 and Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 has been made to ensure that such elements against whom charges have been framed by the competent Court for grave criminal offences punishable by not less than 10 years imprisonment do not contest the elections till they are acquitted by the court.
To promote the culture of repayments of Co-operative loans, an amendment has been made to debar such defaulters of Co-operative loans from contesting the elections to Urban local Bodies. Government said extremely poor recoveries of these loans and interest due have put these financial institutions in Co-operative sector under severe financial crises as their refinancing capability has been greatly eroded. Unless the outstanding dues are recovered in time, the very existence of the entire Co-operative structure will be jeopardized, a government spokesman said on the reasons for this amendment.
Similarly, those would do not pay their arrears of electricity bills would be debarred from contesting polls.
like qualification for contesting panchayat polls, the aspiring candidates must have a functional toilet in their homes. “Non-provision of a functional toilet at the residence of a candidate will be a disqualification for contesting election of an Urban local Bodies. As such, those who aspire to get elected to the civic bodies and administer them must set an example for others by having hygiene and healthy sanitation at their residences including functional toilets,” a spokesman said.
Transport fees rationalized
Making several changes in the fee structure of the Transport Department, Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday made several changes in the Haryana Motor Vehicles Rules and decided to abolish fee charged at the time of transfer of permit in the name of the legal heirs of deceased permit holders.
The approved the Transport Department proposal for rationalization of various kinds of fees being charged for rendering services including the structure of fees for simplifying the procedures in offices by making an amendment in the Haryana Motor Vehicles Rules, 1993.
According to the revised fee structure, it had been decided to abolish the fee charged at the time of transfer of permit in the name of legal heirs of the deceased permit holder, during its validity, as a permit is valid for five years and it is not appropriate to charge the fee for issue of permit at the time of transfer of permit.
Collection of toll on Expressway
The Cabinet approved the collection of toll on 6-lane Manesar-Palwal Section of Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway Project being executed by Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation. There will be four toll points and the rates have been worked out on the basis of National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection), Rules 2008 and its subsequent amendments issued by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Recovery of old arrears
The Cabinet approved to bring an ordinance for amending Section 59A of the Haryana Value Added Tax Act 2003 so as facilitate the recovery of old arrears and also the taxes, interest, penalty and all other dues covering the period prior to April 1, 2015. The amendment in the Act will enable the state to recover old arrears of various taxes, interest, penalty and all other dues which are outstanding and are difficult to recover despite the earnest efforts of the Excise and Taxation Department. The amendment would also avoid legal hassles involved in recovering such taxes, interest, penalty etc which are difficult to compute and recover.
Bus stand at Karnal
The Cabinet approved the transfer of 32 acres two Kanal land of Choudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar located at village Uchani district Karnal to the State Transport Department free of cost for construction of Bus Stand, Driver Training School and Workshop near Balri bye-pass, Karnal.
Cattle pond in Hisar
Approval was given to the transfer of 50 acres of land of Government livestock Farm Hisar to the Municipal Corporation, Hisar for setting-up of Gau-Abhayaranya and Cattle Pound. This land will be transferred on the present collector rate of Rs.44 lakh per acre to the Municipal Corporation.