The Directorate of Municipal Administration has directed the Commissioner of Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) that in terms of the CCP Act the 30 elected representatives be designated as Councillors and not as Corporators.
The directions came after I filed a complaint that the CCP was acting in violation of the CCP Act by addressing the 30 elected representatives as Corporators and not Councillors. The CCP is governed and mandated by the CCP Act, 2002 and has to strictly function and operate within the ambit and framework of the Act.
Section 5 (11) of the CCP Act refers to “Councillor” as any person who is elected as a member of the Corporation. This being the mandate of the law, the CCP in clear violation of the Act had been wrongly designating and addressing these 30 elected representatives as ‘Corporators’ and not ‘Councillors’ as required and stipulated by the CCP Act.
In my complaint it was sought that the CCP Commissioner be directed to immediately rectify this violation and designate and address the 30 elected representatives as ‘Councillors’ and not as ‘Corporators’. In complying with the directions received from the government, the CCP has started addressing the 30 elected as Councillors and has also amended their website to this effect.
The onus is on the Commissioner to see that every provision of the CCP Act is strictly enforced while also ensuring that there is no violation of the Act whatsoever. Let us remain vigilant to see that this happens.
