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Manish Tewari introduces private members bill to propose five-year tenure for Chandigarhs top municipal posts

CHANDIGARH: Member of Parliament from Chandigarh, Manish Tewari, on Friday introduced a private members bill in the Lok Sabha proposing to extend the tenure of the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation from the current one year to five years. The bill seeks amendments to the Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Act and related provisions to bring the tenure of the three top municipal posts at par with the five-year term of the Municipal Corporation itself. The primary aim of the bill is to provide administrative stability, strengthen urban governance and ensure long-term planning for Chandigarh. At present, the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor serve only a 12-month term, resulting in an annual change in leadership. This disrupts major development projects, causes discontinuity, frequently shifts administrative direction and, due to political instability and yearly contestation, hampers governance. The proposed five-year tenure aligns Chandigarh with governance models of several major Indian municipal corporations and international urban local bodies. LIVE | Winter Session Day 5: Lok Sabha passes pan masala cess bill; TMC raises Bengali deportation row While introducing the bill, Tewari argued that Chandigarh is a modern, fast-growing urban centre where key projects, particularly in infrastructure, waste management, choe rejuvenation, mobility, housing reforms and environmental restoration, require multi-year continuity. He noted, A one-year mayoral term is far too short for a city of Chandigarhs scale. The annual leadership change disrupts execution and accountability. A five-year term will provide the stability needed to implement long-term development strategies. The key provisions of the private members bill proposed by Tewari include a five-year tenure for the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, with all three positions holding office for the full duration of the Municipal Corporations five-year term. It also proposes amendments to related and incidental provisions, seeking alignment of election procedures, rules for vacancy, removal and no-confidence motions, administrative powers attached to the posts, and continuity of ongoing projects and policy frameworks under the proposed five-year structure. If enacted, the bill would trigger a structural transformation in Chandigarhs municipal governance. It would eliminate yearly mayoral elections and associated political friction, strengthen long-term urban planning, bring continuity to major civic initiatives like choe rejuvenation, mobility plans, smart city projects, housing reforms and sewerage upgrades, enhance accountability by allowing one leadership team to see projects through from conception to completion, said Tewari Urban governance experts see this as potentially one of the most significant reforms in the history of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, he added . As a private members bill, it will require government backing, support across party lines in Parliament and a possible examination by a Parliamentary Standing Committee.