No benchmark

16/03/2018

Throwing provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act to the winds, a committee headed by Chief Secretary has failed to ensure transfer of 10 key functions to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) despite the lapse of five years. Moreover, no benchmark has been fixed for delivery of essential services to the people and measure the performance of the Municipal Corporations, Committees and Councils. Under the provisions of J&K Municipal Corporation Act and J&K Municipal Act, 2000, the Government notified 18 functions and powers in April 2013 for transfer to the Urban Local Bodies across the State. In order to oversee the process of transfer of functions, functionaries and funds, a committee headed by the Chief Secretary was also constituted in April 2013. However, only eight functions could be transferred to the Urban Local Bodies till date mainly because of the failure of the Chief Secretary-headed committee to complete the assigned task within stipulated time-frame, sources said, adding because of the slackness on the part of committee 10 key functions have yet not been transferred to the Urban Local Bodies.
The functions which are being performed by the ULBs are regulation of land-use and construction of buildings, public health and sanitation, maintenance of burial & cremation grounds and cattle ponds, public amenities like street lighting, parking lots and vital statistics including registration of births and deaths. It is unfortunate that those who remained at the helm of affairs in the Housing and Urban Development Department, which has administrative control over all the Urban Local Bodies, have maintained silence over inordinate delay in transfer of 10 key functions to the ULBs.
What to talk of transfer of all the functions and powers to the ULBs, the Government has even failed to fix benchmarks to assess the performance of these bodies in ensuring timely essential services to the common masses. As per the recommendation of the 13th Finance Commission, the Housing and Urban Development Department was required to put in place Service Level Benchmarks for the Urban Local Bodies. The Government was supposed to notify or cause the ULBs to notify by end of every fiscal year the Service Level Benchmarks to be achieved by the end of succeeding fiscal year. However, the Service Level Benchmarks have not been notified by the Government till date as a result of which there is no yardstick to measure the quantum and quality of services to be provided to the public by the Urban Local Bodies.

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