Aizawl Municipal area is too small: MMSC

Aizawl, Oct 18 (UNI) The Mizoram Municipal Steering Committee (MMSC) today expressed resentment against the exclusion of large portion of Aizawl city area in the newly constituted Aizawl Municipal Council.

''As the name indicates, the Aizawl Municipal Council must include the entire area of the city,'' MMSC chairman C Lalramdina said at a press conference here.

The municipal area excludes a good number of localities on the eastern, western, southern and northern outskirts of the city which otherwise are notified as city area.

''In any census, the residents of these excluded localities are identified as urban residents. Their exclusion in the municipal council area is deprivation of their rights enshrined in the 72nd Amendment of the Constitution,'' MMSC vice-chairman C Lallianchhunga stated.

The MMSC further accused the state government of not making any endeavour towards implementing the Mizoram Municipality Act, passed by the state Legislative Assembly in 2007.

''It is really unfortunate that we are still doing without municipality even in the state capital owing to the state government's lack of interest,'' the MMSC rued.

According to the MMSC, it is an urgent need to do away with the old-fashioned village council system in order to catch up with the advancement in the rest of the world.

The MMSC leaders asserted that Mizoram could not enjoy certain development projects due to absence of municipality for towns and panchayati raj for villages.

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