Mangaluru : The BJP that won an absolute majority with 44 out of 60 wards in the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) council, has decided to insist that all corporators form ward committees and area sabhas in their jurisdictions.

The 74th constitutional amendment and the amendment of Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act in 2011 mandate formation of ward committees and area sabhas in city corporations.

Further, the high court, while hearing a petition, also has ordered the formation of ward committees and area sabhas in Mangaluru, immediately after elections. Both the BJP and Congress have mentioned the formation of ward committees and area sabhas in their manifestos.

When the MCC Civic Group, a group of like-minded social activists, launched a campaign asking all candidates to sign an affidavit for the setting up of ward committees and area sabhas, 20, including eight independents, four of the CPM, five members of the SDPI, two from the WPI and one JD(S) candidate signed it.

MCC Civic Group member Gerard Towers told that the formation of ward committees and area samitis is mandatory, and it is the right of citizens to participate in the development works.

“It is mandatory as per the constitutional amendment and as per the KMC Act. We will continue our effort till ward committees and area sabhas are formed in all the 60 wards of the city corporation. We will wait till the formation of the council and take forward our fight. Failing to form ward committees and area sabhas will amount to contempt of court. Hence, we will take the legal recourse if they do not form it in all wards,” Towers said.

Senior BJP corporator and opposition leader in the previous council, Premanand Shetty, said the party is committed to form ward committees and area sabhas. “We will insist upon all corporators from our party to form ward committees and area sabhas in their respective wards.

We will hold a meeting in this regard soon. Our priority is to fulfil all promises we made in our manifesto,” he added.

Meanwhile, senior Congress corporator Abdul Rouf said, “Formation of ward committees and area sabhas will help us in implementing development works. In fact, I was working under the guidance of a similar ward committee which was functional in Milagres ward that I represented in the previous