Mumbai: Much delayed, but a welcome development: this is how citizens have reacted to the Supreme Court's interim order on Tuesday, asking Maharashtra to hold local body elections and notify the process in four weeks.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the state's largest local body, has been functioning without elected corporators since February 2022. Shishir Vivekanand Shetty, founder of Lokhandwala Residents Association, Kandivali East, said that the Supreme Court's order to conduct municipal elections was welcome because bureaucrats are managing the BMC in corporators' absence.
"This is a huge disadvantage to residents who did not have their elected municipal councilor to represent their routine issues with their wards. Such a scenario is not good for a democratic setup," said Shetty.
Citizens said that the BMC, reportedly Asia’s richest municipal body, has been functioning without elected representatives, undermining electoral democracy. "This absence of democratic governance had weakened grassroots accountability and deprived citizens of their constitutional right to local self-governance under Article 243U," said Shaikh Faiyaz Alam, convenor, Govandi Citizens Welfare Forum.
Citizens' groups said that without elected representatives, there was no accountability in civic governance. "At least we can hold somebody responsible for the mess in the city," said Subhash Motwani, president of the Clean Heritage Colaba Residents Association.
"It is a welcome order because the whole BMC and the city are in disarray. There is corruption and encroachment of public places: Colaba is in a total mess. There will be some accountability if there are corporators. Though I wish the order had come early," said Motwani.
Sanjeev D'Souza, coordinator for Action for Good Governance and Networking (AGNI), a citizens' group, agreed that the directions to hold the elections should have come earlier. "We are excited about the order. There is a void right now without corporators. We would rather have corporators on the job. It is something that is needed," said D'Souza, who represents H(West), which includes the western parts of Bandra, Santacruz, and Khar.
Shaikh said that the judgment is not just a legal mandate. It is a beacon of constitutional morality, restoring faith in the democratic framework. "This is a victory for the Constitution, for the people, and participatory governance," said Shaikh, who appealed to the State Election Commission to act swiftly and announce the election schedule in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, ensuring free, fair, and timely civic elections.
Indrani Malkani, a Malabar Hill resident and the chairperson of We Citizens Action Network, said that the delay in civic elections had nothing to do with the state government. "The issue had been pending for the longest period. People blamed the government, but the government itself had nothing to do with the delay. The matter was pending in the Supreme Court," said Malkani, who added that there is scepticism whether the election process will start soon. "This is a long process; I do not see it happening in a few months," said Malkani.
Shetty agreed that the timeline for the elections to be conducted within four months will have its challenges due to weather conditions in many cities of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Thane, and others, which have heavy rainfall in August and September.
"It is always a challenge to have an average voter turnout; the monsoon will be a deterrent to the civic elections," said Shetty, who expected legal issues to delay the order's implementation.
"The hon'ble court, as per the interim order, has kept a option for the State Election Commission to approach the bench to seek an extension in appropriate cases which I feel the SEC will to seek time till October or November for the said civic elections is what I can foresee as per my legal understanding," Shetty added.
