Belagavi: BJP Corporators Disqualified Over Alleged Misuse of Power in Municipal Shops Allocation
The Regional Commissioner has issued an order canceling the membership of two BJP corporators of the Belagavi City Corporation following allegations that they misused their power to acquire municipal shops in the names of their relatives.
Corporators Jayant Jadhav from Ward No. 23 and Mangesh Pawar from Ward No. 41 have been disqualified from their positions. In response, they have stated that they will challenge the decision in court.
Social activist Sujit Mulagund had filed a complaint with the Regional Commissioner regarding this issue. The case had been under trial in the Regional Commissioner’s court for several years, and the verdict was finally issued today.
It was found that shops in the government-constructed municipal food complex were obtained under the names of Mrs. Sonali Jayant Jadhav and Mrs. Neeta Mangesh Pawar. These two corporators had secured the shops through an auction process even before they were elected as corporators. However, after assuming office, they were required to relinquish them, which they failed to do. Instead, they retained the shops in the names of their family members.
This act was deemed a violation of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, under Section 26 and its subsections. The Regional Commissioner’s order states that both corporators indirectly benefited from the City Corporation, which constitutes an offense under the Act.
As a result, the Regional Commissioner, S.B. Shettannavar, disqualified them from their membership under Section 26(1)(K) of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976.
