Jamshedpur’s industrial town committee unconstitutional: MLA Saryu Roy

Debate over Jamshedpur Industrial Town Committee in assembly

Saryu Roy challenges government’s decision on industrial town committee

Notification violates Constitution and Municipality Act: Saryu Roy

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Mar 10: Jamshedpur West MLA Saryu Roy questioned the state government’s decision to declare Jamshedpur as an industrial town, during the call attention motion. He alleged that the move was in violation of the Municipality Act.

Roy raised the issue in the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday. He argued that the notification is unconstitutional, violates the Jharkhand Municipality Act and goes against the Tata lease agreement. Urban Development Minister Sudivya Kumar responded on behalf of the government but failed to provide satisfactory answers, leading to an 18-minute debate in the House.

Roy pointed out that instead of forming a municipal corporation, as required under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment on local self-governance, the government had created an Industrial City Committee. He criticized the committee’s composition, which includes 14 Tata Steel officials, six government officials, MLAs, MPs and five nominated members, saying that such a structure lacks public representation and violates constitutional provisions.

Another major issue raised by Roy was the appointment of the local minister or minister in charge as chairman, which he said contradicts the Municipality Act. “According to Section 481(3) of the Act, the chairman should be the Deputy Commissioner,” he stated. He also highlighted that the Tata lease agreement guarantees greater civic amenities than those provided under this committee, making the notification legally questionable. When Minister Kumar cited the Supreme Court’s order and constitutional provisions in his defense, Roy dismissed them as “irrelevant and misleading.”

Despite this, the minister stood by his argument, prompting the Assembly Speaker to intervene and suggest that Roy and the Urban Development Minister discuss the matter separately.

Following their meeting, Roy claimed that the government had no valid response to his concerns and urged the minister to take the notification back to the cabinet for amendments. “Speak to the Chief Minister and bring the matter before the Council of Ministers again. If not corrected, this system will harm Jamshedpur’s residents,” he warned. Minister Kumar assured that an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) would be prepared, but Roy rejected the idea, insisting that an SOP was insufficient. “There must be a fundamental change in the committee’s structure, or it will show that the Jharkhand government is indifferent to public interests,” he stated.

Roy also questioned the legal standing of the Industrial Town Committee, warning of challenges in its implementation. He declared that if the government did not amend the notification, he would launch a public awareness campaign to inform people about the issues and their impact on common citizens. Accusing the government of misleading the Assembly, he said, “There is no Supreme Court order mandating the formation of an Industrial Town Committee in Jamshedpur. This is merely an agreement between the government and Tata Steel, which has been reported to the Supreme Court.”

Additionally, Roy questioned why the government specifically targeted Jamshedpur for such a committee when similar arrangements could be made in other industrial areas of Jharkhand, such as Bokaro’s SAIL zones and CCL-BCCL regions, where civic amenities are provided by industries. “Why single out Jamshedpur? Whatever committee is formed, it must include direct public representation,” he emphasized.