As part of further relaxations in COVID-19 guidelines, Maharashtra Government has allowed urban local bodies to hold general body (GB) meetings in-person, or in offline mode. Urban Development Department issued a communication in this regard. Sachin Sahastrabuddhe, Deputy Secretary, issued the letter in this regard to all Divisional Commissioners, all Municipal Commissioners, all District Collectors, and all Chief Officers of municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats in the State. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March last year, restrictions were imposed on holding the general body meetings of the civic bodies to maintain social distancing and avoid crowding. Subsequently, the general body meetings were allowed to be conducted in online mode.

 

Accordingly, the meetings were conducted online. However, in most cases, initially there were problems with connectivity and smooth conduct of the meeting. In case of Nagpur Municipal Corporation too, several corporators complained of issues regarding voice quality, video quality. There were some practical difficulties regarding the use of platform for the meeting. Also, in some civic bodies, there were allegations that some members were deliberately not allowed to speak. Now, with the increase in COVID-19 vaccination, drop in number of active cases, improvement in recovery rate, and no death in many of the districts in the State, the Government has decided to offer relaxation in norms. Accordingly, the urban local bodies have been allowed to hold general body as well as other meetings in-person. However, the permission is subject to maintaining physical distancing and following other health-related norms.