Patna: A bill was passed in the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday that sought to take away the power of councillors of civic bodies to bring no-confidence motions against mayors and deputy mayors and remove them by way of it.
The Bihar Municipality (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed by voice vote after the opposition staged a walkout.
The bill was tabled by Urban Development and Housing Minister Nitin Nabin in the Assembly.
Introducing the bill, Nabin said, "There have been cases in which no-confidence motions were frequently moved against the mayor and deputy mayor in different municipal bodies in the state by ward councillors. This impacts the functioning of municipalities and also leads to factionalism. Therefore, the provisions concerning no-confidence motion are being removed in the amendment bill."
After the bill comes into effect, it is believed that the state government will have a greater role in managing the civic bodies.
The Assembly also passed the Bihar State University Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aimed at bringing the recruitment of teachers in all state-run higher education institutions under the Bihar State University Service Commission that was revived in 2017. This bill was tabled by Education Minister Sunil Kumar.
The Assembly also passed the Bihar School Examination Board (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was necessitated by the state government's decision to abolish intermediate education in colleges.
The state government had in February decided to end intermediate education in colleges and conduct it only in higher secondary schools from the new session that started on April 1.
This required an amendment in the law, said the education minister.