85 corporators, 0 question in 4 years

Pune: More than half the corporators of the Pune Municipal Corporation never asked a question in the general body meetings over the past four years though most of them installed benches in their respective wards.
Of the 152 elected representatives in the civic body, as many as 140 used funds for installing benches. On the flip side, eighty-five corporators had nothing to ask in the general body (GB) meetings since they have been elected.
A survey of the city-based group, Parivatran, conducted for preparing a report card of corporators on different aspects brought these facts to the fore."All the information was sought under the Right To Information Act. Parameters such as ward-level funds, attendance at the municipal corporation meetings, number of questions asked and criminal offence records in PMC were included in the survey," Ankita Abhyankar, the coordinator of the project, told reporters.
The citizens have repeatedly expressed concern about corporators' reluctance in participating in debates at GB meetings. NCP city unit chief and Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan said all parties should take initiative to train their elected representatives for participating in GB meetings and using their power as elected representatives.
"Corporators are the bridge between people and the administration. If they are unaware of their responsibilities and power, they will not be able to deliver. This will ruin the purpose of decentralization of power and common people will be the sufferers," said Chavan.
Congress corporator Aba Bagul said parties should encourage corporators to participate in debates.
A senior PMC official said only handful of corporators took up issues in GB meetings. "Some of them have not even bothered to ask written questions. Only few corporators run the GB meetings and run away with maximum funds. Some corporators come to GB meetings just to put their signature," he said.
Every month, three to four GB meetings are conducted. One or two get postponed either for paying condolences or reasons like wedding of a politician's kin.
In the remaining meetings, a few matters on the agenda are approved. The rest are deferred to the next month.
The elected representatives' lack of interest in civic matters was glaring last year when the Smart Cities Mission proposal was discussed in the 13-hour-long marathon special GB meeting.
Only about 30 corporators participated in the debate. Some read out brief speeches, while others remained mute spectators.
When TOI had asked some of them about the Mission, they seemed completely unaware of what the issue was. A corporator, hardly seen in GB meetings otherwise, said he was asked by the party leadership to remain present for the meeting as "every vote counted".
Like him, several corporators remain present in the House only when their party leaders ask them to do so.
The fact reflected in Parivartan's report on parties' attendance. None of them registered 85% attendance in GB meetings.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had maximum attendance in GBs - 81.52%. The Congress with 71.55 % attendance had the lowest presence.
The attendance of the BJP was 80.39%. The Republican Party of India registered 77.25% attendance, the NCP logged 76.73% and Shiv Sena 75.05%.
According to the city-based group, Parivartan, all these details are available at www.nagarsevak.info for common public. Citizens can check the performance of their corporators on the site.
"The data will be available for citizens free of cost. Even the source code for the website is open to all," said Tanmay Kanitkar, the founder of the group.
Parivartan also submitted the data to the party leaders in the civic body and expressed willingness to make a presentation before them.