Sneha Patil writes to the mayor‑councilor demanding separate time reserved for female councilors at Bhivandi Municipal Corporation’s general meeting.
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50% Women Councillors, 90% Win for the First Time – No Opportunity to Speak
City News Mumbai / Gani Khan
In Bhivandi Municipal Corporation, 50% of the councillors are women, 90% of whom are elected for the first time. After three years of Administrator Raj, people's expectations have risen with the elected representatives, but due to the agenda in the municipal corporation meeting, there is no time to bring ward issues. In such a situation, Councillor Sneha Mehul Patil wrote a letter to Mayor Narayan Chaudhary and Commissioner Anmol Sagar demanding that a separate reserved time be allotted for women councillors to speak in the meeting.
Councillor Sneha Patil stated in the letter that the municipal corporation meeting is the supreme platform for city development decisions. Every councillor wants to raise issues of their ward, but time runs out within the agenda and scheduled topics. Women councillors raise issues such as women, children, senior citizens, health, education, women's safety, sanitation, water supply along with ward matters, but due to lack of time they are not given an opportunity to speak effectively. Therefore, a separate time should be set for general discussion, and a distinct slot reserved for women councillors.
Municipal Corporation Meeting to Start at 11:00 – Demand of Saddam Bhai
Meanwhile, Congress councillor Khan Abdul Rahman, also known as Saddam Bhai, wrote to Commissioner Anmol Sagar demanding that the municipal corporation meeting be scheduled at 11:00 a.m. instead of 3:00 or 3:30 p.m. He said that holding the meeting in the afternoon forces it to finish early in the evening, leaving councillors' issues incomplete. If the meeting is held at 11:00 a.m., the day can be divided into two sessions. Additionally, at least one hour should be compulsorily reserved for general discussion before the agenda starts, so that ward-level issues such as water, roads, health, sanitation can be raised, which are currently being handled as formalities.
