Nagaland Assembly passes historic bill reserving one-third of ULB seats for women

Digital Desk: The Nagaland Assembly unanimously passed the Nagaland Municipal Bill 2023 during an emergent session on Thursday which reserves one-third of the seats in urban local bodies (ULBs) for women. The choice was made following a protracted discussion and multiple attempts to agree.

During the bill's presentation, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio emphasized that the new law does not include any provisions about taxes on land or buildings. Apex tribal authorities in the state approved the one-third reserve for women in ULBs, which was judged necessary to follow the Supreme Court's explicit instructions.

However, the bill does not include the provision for one-third reservation of the offices of the chairperson in ULBs for women, which was part of the earlier Municipal Act.

"This law is not the end, but only a beginning," Chief Minister Rio said, highlighting the need for women to actively engage in and contribute to the management of urban local authorities.

The previous 20 years have seen multiple unsuccessful attempts to hold ULB elections in Nagaland, which led to the adoption of the Nagaland Municipal Bill 2023. Under the direction of Deputy Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang, the Select Committee, which was composed of seven members of the House, reviewed the law and suggested adding more clauses.

One of the suggestions is that the only people who should be able to join any municipal or town council should be the state's indigenous population. Moreover, it was suggested that the Municipal Act be reexamined every ten years, which is in line with the opinions of numerous Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

 

Even though it may have been one of the last states to urbanization, Nagaland has rapidly urbanized in recent years, as evidenced by the state's 39 urban local bodies. Through local self-governance, the government hopes to supply the expanding urban population with the services and infrastructure they need.

It is anticipated that after the new Nagaland Municipal Bill 2023 is passed, ULBs will be more developed, well-managed, orderly, tidy, and attractive.

Every political party represented in the Assembly took part in the talks and backed the passing of the bill, including the NDPP, BJP, NCP, NPP, LJP (Ram Vilas), Naga People's Front, RPI (Athawale), JD(U), and Independent.

The dates for the ULB elections are anticipated to be released shortly by the State Election Commission, after the bill's unanimous ratification.

The government will carry on talks with tribal groups like the Ao Senden from Mokokchung district that are against the 33% women reservation, even after the bill's historic passing.

Since the previous ULB elections in Nagaland were held in 2004, it was well overdue for them to happen. First, the unresolved Naga peace talks caused delays; next, different tribal groupings opposed the Supreme Court's mandated 33% reservation for women.

The Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001 was abolished by the Assembly during its March session, and work on drafting a new law that takes into account the opinions of civil society organizations and tribal bodies began.

Due to fears about how the women's reservation would affect Naga customs, tribal bodies rejected it. They also objected to the proposed land and property tax, arguing that it violated Article 371(A) of the Indian Constitution, which gives Nagas particular rights over land and property.

However,  the government called a consultative meeting on Sept 1 and resolved to hold ULB elections with a women's quota and present the amended bill during the Assembly's monsoon session.

During a consultative meeting with top tribal organizations on November 6, such as the Tenyimia Union Nagaland, the Central Nagaland Tribes Council, and the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organization, the Assembly Select Committee agreed to approve the revised law.