The BoA at the SMC was constituted on 18 May last year following the completion of the tenure of the elected board. I stepped down from the post of chairperson in February. Through an amendment, the state government had extended the tenure of the administrators in civic bodies from six months to six more months and it cannot exceed one year,”
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The Darjeeling district Left Front is set to move the Calcutta High Court, seeking immediate civic body elections, which are due for more than a year now.
According to Left leaders, the present board of administrators (BoA) at the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) cannot function anymore because the one-year term of the nominated board got over in May this year.
Such elections are due in 114 civic bodies across the state, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the SMC, while in the absence of elected boards, these are presently run by government-nominated persons.
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“The elections to the SMC and Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad are pending for more than a year. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been demanding Assembly by-polls, but not talking about the civic body elections.
The BoA in Siliguri is functioning for more than a year by violating the rules. Therefore, we have decided to move the Calcutta High Court for immediate elections,” said Darjeeling district Left Front convener Jibesh Sarkar.
Senior advocate and CPIM Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya will plead for the Left Front in the court, it is learnt. According to former Siliguri mayor Asok Bhattacharya, the nominated boards, which were functioning even after a year, were unconstitutional.
“The BoA at the SMC was constituted on 18 May last year following the completion of the tenure of the elected board. I stepped down from the post of chairperson in February. Through an amendment, the state government had extended the tenure of the administrators in civic bodies from six months to six more months and it cannot exceed one year,” Mr Bhattacharya said.
Meanwhile, the Left Front will organise a march to the SMP on 15 September to press for the election demand. A citizen convention will also be held to build public opinion on this issue on 23 September, Left leaders said.
Left leaders said the people were facing problems in the absence of the elected boards. The chairperson of the board of administrators at the SMC and Trinamul Congress leader Gautam Deb, on the other hand, said anyone could move the court.
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