The State Urban Development Secretary, Ajoy Kumar Singh, on Wednesday presided over a meeting to decide whether the city should have a municipal corporation or industrial town status at the district headquarters. Elected representatives, petitioners — Tata Steel and Jawaharlal Sharma - trade bodies and social organisations took part in it. At the end of the meeting, it was announced that a majority favoured on according industrial township status to Jamshedpur.
The meeting was called following a directive issued by the Supreme Court on September 2 to the State Government to file an affidavit if it wants industrial town status for the city based on the opinion of stakeholders. The next hearing is scheduled on September 26.After the meeting, Ajoy Kumar Singh said that the meeting saw participation of all the elected representatives, petitioners, different NGOs and trade bodies and majority of them agreed that the city should be accorded industrial township status.
The stakeholders also wanted Tata Steel to withdraw the special leave petition (SlP) from the Supreme Court and include the 86 bastis (urban slums) in its lease area and provide basic amenities (water, power etc) to the urban slums.It may be mentioned that Tata Steel had filed a special leave petition (SlP) in 2006 in the Supreme Court challenging Jharkhand Government notification intending to form a municipal corporation for Jamshedpur. After that, the Supreme Court had directed for maintaining status quo on the issue.
City-based social worker Jawaharlal Sharma filed an application in 2008 for an elected municipal body for Jamshedpur which was also admitted by the apex court.One of the officials of a local company said that an industrial township is the only solution, where the civic authority work in much efficient manner and the public-private partnership module could be implemented for future development.
He said that JNAC has been found lacking in many ways. Jusco provides the majority of the civic services to the citizens living within the city limits while the State-run Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee provides municipal services in the peripheral areas of the city.
The State Urban Development Secretary further added that the members want that there should be proper representations of elected representatives, bureaucrats and corporate sector in the committee.A final decision on composition of the committee would be taken at a meeting to be held with State Chief Secretary Sudhir Prasad, expected on September 20.
Singh also said that Tata Steel has agreed to provide civic amenities to all the 86 urban slums in its SlP before the apex court.Jamshedpur MP Vidyut Baran Mahto, Jamshedpur East MlA Raghubar Das, Jamshedpur West MlA Banna Gupta, Ghatshila MlA Ramdas Soren, Potka MlA Meneka Sardar, T V Narendra, MD Tata Steel, Jusco MD Ashish Mathur, Tata Steel plant head A B lall were also present.