Patna, March 16: Freedom from bureaucratic control is the need of the hour for local bodies in Bihar.

More than 50 chairpersons of municipal councils and panchayats deliberated at length on the problems and prospects of local bodies in the state at the Deepnarayan Singh Regional Cooperative Management Institute here yesterday. The workshop was jointly organised by some NGOs and the KN Sahay Environment and Urban Development Institute.

?We want the urban bodies to reap the benefits of self-governance, free from bureaucratic control. This is in the spirit of the Constitution, especially the 74th Amendment,? the resolution said.

The members pleaded for further amendment of the Constitution, if required, for changes like the creation of municipal police and the posts of magistrate and ombudsman.

?We want certain fundamental changes in the Municipal Act so that women members get equal powers in the councils and panchayats and the local bodies can represent the state finance commission,? the resolution added.

Pankaj Anand, chief organiser of the workshop, said: ?We are committed to strengthen the system of rural and urban local self-governance. Today, we have provided the urban bodies a forum to raise their issues and chalk out a plan of action to improve the way they function.?

Irrespective of their political affiliations, several members said they gained nothing from the previous regime except the election to the local bodies, which was held after a long time.

?The government is in control of finance, and hence, of us. Actually, it doesn?t want the true representatives of the people to have any power. What local self-governance are we talking about?? a member argued.

Sunita Devi, chairperson of the Munger nagar parishad, said: ?Hardly 10 per cent of the funds are used for development. The top bureaucrats control the entire show. Even my staff members do not listen to me.?

The members hoped that the new administration under Governor Buta Singh would consider the demands of the local bodies and do the needful.

A positive start has been made with a hike in the budgetary allocation for the urban development department from Rs 50 crore to Rs 200 crore for the next fiscal.

Besides, a revised Bihar Municipal Act has been drafted, which will give wide-ranging powers to the municipal corporations of Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur.