HP Assembly passes bill to extend mayor, deputy mayor's tenure to five years

Dharamshala/Shimla, Dec 4 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday passed a bill to allow the mayors and deputy mayors of municipal corporations in the state to stay in office for the full five-year term of the civic bodies.

The Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation (2nd Amendment Bill), 2025, seeking to extend their tenure from two-and-a-half years to five, was presented for discussion and passed by voice vote in the absence of opposition members in the House.

BJP legislators walked out of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly in protest of the alleged lathi charge on ABVP workers near the Zorawar Stadium in Dharamshala a day earlier.

The bill replaces the ordinance promulgated by the governor ahead of the expiry of the two-and-a-half-year tenure of the mayor and deputy mayor of the Congress-ruled Shimla Municipal Corporation.

According to the Bill, in case a mayor resigns before completion of the full term or the post falls vacant due to some other reason, the deputy mayor would hold the charge and a new mayor would be elected within a month.

On October 25, the state cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, extended the terms of the mayor and deputy mayor to five years. Explaining the reasons behind the decision, a cabinet minister had said that the two-and-a-half-year term was raising apprehension of horse trading, while pointing out that the term in Panchayati Raj institutions was five years.

The decision benefited the Shimla Mayor Chauhan, whose term was to end on November 15. After that, the post was to be reserved for women according to the roster.

A general house meeting of the Shimla Municipal Corporation had witnessed uproar after councillors expressed their resentment over the move, claiming that the ordinance to extend the mayor and deputy mayor's tenure was brought in haste, without consulting them.

BJP councillors staged a protest, and even some Congress members of the House also expressed their unhappiness over the move to change the roster.

A PIL was filed in the Himachal Pradesh High Court against the cabinet's decision, contending that the extension of term violates the existing reservation roster, under which a Scheduled Caste woman councillor was slated to assume office for the next two-and-a-half years.

Pointing out that the Shimla Corporation has 21 women out of 34 councillors, the petitioner argued that the Cabinet's decision has deprived the women of their constitutional rights.

The Assembly on Thursday also passed the Himachal Pradesh Municipal (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2025, providing for mandatory audit of all the municipalities by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The bill aims to strengthen municipal governance, enhance financial accountability and align its provisions with contemporary administrative and socio-economic needs, Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Sigh said in the 'statement of objects and reasons' of the proposed legislation.

The bill is intended to ensure greater transparency, uniformity and credibility in Municipal Financial management, he added. PTI BPL NSD NSD