Chandigarh Administration Plans Major Change in Mayor’s Tenure System

The Chandigarh administration is preparing to extend the tenure of the city’s Mayor from the current one year to up to two and a half years from the next term. A formal proposal regarding this change has been sent to the Central Government. The proposal, which also includes extending the terms of the Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It is expected to be presented in Parliament after further consideration. While preparing the proposal, the administration studied systems implemented in municipal corporations of states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. Officials believe that a one-year term is not sufficient for the effective implementation of policies and development plans. As a result, the need for extending the tenure was strongly felt. The proposal also recommends an amendment to Section 38 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, which is applicable to Chandigarh under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Act, 1994. If approved, this would bring a significant structural change in the functioning of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation system. Former Member of Parliament and Union Railway Minister Pawan Bansal has expressed his view that the Mayor should be elected for a five-year term and directly by the public. He also stated that the post should be strengthened, the corporation should receive full funding, and the Mayor should be given the authority to write Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of officials. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MCC) was formed on May 24, 1994, through an ordinance, which was later enacted as the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act (Extension to Chandigarh), 1994. A.P. Tiwari was appointed as the first Commissioner of Chandigarh on June 19, 1995, until the first municipal elections were held. During this period, he also exercised the powers of the Mayor. The first meeting of councillors and the election of the Mayor took place in December 1996. Since then, the Mayor’s tenure in Chandigarh has remained one year. A total of 30 Mayors have been elected since 1996. The first Mayor was Kamala Sharma (December 1996). Other notable names include former Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, Harjinder Kaur (two terms), Kamlesh (two terms), and Anu Chatrath (two terms). The current Mayor is BJP’s Saurabh Joshi.