Ward commissioners at an orientation programme in Ranchi on Tuesday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Nov. 25: Members of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) have decided to press the government to restore the civic body’s power to approve building maps for constructions falling under the RMC jurisdiction.

At a meeting to discuss the powers and functions of ward commissioners today, RMC bosses learnt that the civic body has been stripped off its constitutional right to approve a construction map. The meeting was organised by the urban development department.

This year, the civic body election was held after several years and today’s meeting was held to apprise ward commissioners about their powers of function. The meeting was also attended by experts on civic body law, who were assigned the task to explain to the councillors their duties and rights.

“According to the 72nd amendment to the Constitution, the power to approve a construction map in an area under the civic body rests with it. However, here the power has been granted to Ranchi Regional Development Authority (RRDA),” said Arvind Singh Deol, a councillor. Article 249 (W) of the Constitution states that the state legislature may endow the power to regulate land use and building construction to a municipal body.

In 2007, the government had decided to empower the RMC to approve building plans and maps and the law department accordingly mooted the proposal that failed to see the light of the day. Municipal bodies also enjoyed the power to approve building maps before the Regional Development Authority Act, 1981, was passed.

It was also decided that RMC ward commissioners would also seek power from the government to supply drinking water to the city, a task that is now entrusted to the public health and engineering department (PHED).

Experts on civic body law have stated that the RMC would be able to collect holding taxes of houses that have been built on illegal lands.

“Collection of taxes by a civic body has little to do with a house’s legality. The fact that the house is situated within the civic body area and that it enjoys facilities offered by the latter, is reason enough to collect tax,” said U.B. Singh, an official of Regional Centre for Urban and Environment Studies, Lucknow.