ADVOCATE HEMANT KUMAR FLAGS STATUTORY AND CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS; CITES ARTICLE 243S AND HARYANA MUNICIPAL CITIZENS’ PARTICIPATION ACT, 2008
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The constitution of 1,646 Ward Committees across Haryana’s urban local bodies has come under a fresh legal challenge, with Punjab and Haryana High Court Advocate and municipal-law practitioner Hemant Kumar questioning the statutory authority and constitutional basis for their formation in different categories of municipalities.
The issue assumes significance following an official statement issued by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday, September 25, stating that Ward Committees had been constituted across the State to facilitate citizens and ensure speedy redressal of public grievances.
In a representation addressed to senior authorities of the Urban Local Bodies Department, including its Commissioner and Secretary and other senior officials, Kumar has contended that the legal basis cited for constituting the committees does not uniformly extend to all three categories of urban local bodies in Haryana.
2008 Act: Does it extend to Municipal Corporations?
According to Kumar, the Haryana Municipal Citizens’ Participation Act, 2008 has been relied upon for constitution of Ward Committees across the State. He has, however, drawn attention to Section 2(g) of the Act, which, according to his representation, defines “Municipality” with reference to bodies constituted under the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973.
Kumar argues that Haryana’s 11 Municipal Corporations are constituted under the separate Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, and therefore, in his view, the 2008 legislation cannot automatically be invoked for constituting Ward Committees in Municipal Corporations.
He has consequently questioned the legal competence of the authorities concerned to constitute such committees in Municipal Corporations solely by relying upon the 2008 Act.
Section 10 of 1994 Act raises another question
The advocate has raised a second, independent issue concerning Municipal Corporations.
He has referred to Section 10 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, contending that where Ward Committees are to be constituted in Municipal Corporations, the statutory provision vests the relevant power with the State Government, rather than conferring an independent power upon the Municipal Corporation House, Mayor or Municipal Commissioner.
On this interpretation, Kumar has argued that a Municipal Corporation cannot create a statutory mechanism merely through a resolution of its House if the enabling legislation does not expressly confer such power upon it.
“A statutory authority derives its powers from the statute. It cannot assume a power which the legislature has not conferred upon it,” the representation states in substance.
Constitutional threshold of three lakh population
The more fundamental constitutional question, according to Kumar, concerns the remaining urban local bodies.
Invoking Article 243S of the Constitution of India, he has pointed out that the Constitution provides for constitution of Ward Committees in municipalities having a population of three lakh or more, subject to the constitutional framework.
Kumar has therefore questioned the constitution of Ward Committees in Haryana’s Municipal Councils and Municipal Committees, contending that these bodies fall below the constitutional population threshold referred to in Article 243S.
He has linked this constitutional provision with the classification of urban local bodies under the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, and has argued that the State cannot, by executive action or ordinary statutory arrangement, create Ward Committees in municipalities where the constitutional conditions for such committees are not satisfied.
“Two separate legal questions arise”
According to Kumar, the controversy is therefore not confined to one statutory provision but involves two distinct legal questions.
First, whether the 2008 Act can legally serve as the basis for Ward Committees in Municipal Corporations governed by the 1994 Corporation Act.
Second, whether Ward Committees can constitutionally be established in Municipal Councils and Municipal Committees whose populations fall below the threshold contemplated by Article 243S.
He has described the present position as raising a “legal and constitutional” issue requiring examination by the State Government before the committees are allowed to function on a permanent basis.
Can the law be amended?
Kumar has also suggested a possible legislative route for resolving the issue concerning Municipal Corporations.
According to him, the State Legislature could expressly amend Section 2(g) of the 2008 Act to include Municipal Corporations constituted under the 1994 Act. The relevant provisions of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 could also be amended, if constitutionally permissible, to clearly specify the competent authority for constituting Ward Committees.
Such amendments, he argues, could address the statutory-authority question concerning the State’s Municipal Corporations.
However, he maintains that the position regarding Municipal Councils and Municipal Committees is fundamentally different because Article 243S is a constitutional provision and cannot simply be overridden through an amendment to a State statute.
Matter could reach court
Kumar has cautioned that if the Ward Committees continue without first resolving the statutory and constitutional questions raised in his representation, their constitution and functioning could become subject to judicial scrutiny.
The controversy comes at a time when the State Government is projecting Ward Committees as an institutional mechanism for greater citizen participation, easier access to local administration and faster grievance redressal.
The central legal question now is whether the State’s administrative objective of strengthening citizen participation has been implemented through the precise statutory and constitutional route prescribed by law.
The representation seeks examination of the entire issue by the competent authorities and appropriate corrective action in accordance with the Constitution and the governing municipal statutes.
Haryana
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