A municipal meeting convened to address the Belagavi city’s water supply issues took an unexpected turn when Mahadev Rathore, husband of ruling party corporator Lakshmi Rathore, attended the session despite it being exclusively for elected corporators.
The meeting, organized by the Belagavi City Corporation, included officials from the Water Supply Board, the L&T, Hescom, and municipal employees. However, Rathore not only attended but also occupied a corporator’s designated seat in the main hall and actively engaged in discussions, providing instructions to officials.
This is not the first instance of such participation. In 2023, Rathore attended a Standing Committee meeting, leading to discontent among ruling party corporators, which eventually prompted him to withdraw from those sessions. He was also present at a municipal budget preparatory meeting but had justified his presence as a representative of an organization.
Despite the meeting being restricted to corporators, no ruling party members objected to Rathore’s presence. Interestingly, while attendance was officially recorded, Rathore’s name was not included in the registry. Another corporator’s husband was briefly present but left before the proceedings began.
The incident underscores a growing concern in municipal governance. With 50% of seats reserved for women, intended to empower female leadership, reports suggest that many corporators’ husbands play an active role in decision-making, often introducing themselves as corporators and influencing municipal affairs. This raises questions about the effectiveness of the reservation system and the enforcement of municipal regulations.
Source: Sakal
The Government of Karnataka needs to take a serious look at this episode since the aspect of Reservation of Seats for females appears to be a mockery of sorts. Even in Ward No 54, the husband of the corporator is at the fore front!