Bihar Mayors Walk Out of Waste Management Workshop in Patna in Protest

Diya Behl

Patna: In a dramatic display of dissent, all mayors from Bihar walked out of a waste management workshop held in Patna on Thursday, leaving Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Urban Development Minister Nitin Nabin to address an empty room. The boycott comes in response to the recently passed Nagar Palika Amendment Bill 2024, which has significantly curtailed the powers of municipal bodies.

The workshop, organized by the Department of Urban Development and Housing, was intended to address key waste management issues but was overshadowed by the political unrest surrounding the controversial bill. The amendment, which passed through both houses of the Bihar legislature during the monsoon session, has sparked outrage among elected representatives of civic bodies, who argue that it undermines their authority and disrupts municipal governance.

Despite Minister Nabin’s assurances that the concerns of the mayors would be considered, the decision to boycott the workshop was unanimous. The mayors, including prominent figures like Patna Mayor Sita Sahu, view the bill as a move to centralize control and diminish local decision-making power.

In response to the walkout, Choudhary maintained that the bill does not strip municipalities of their powers but rather seeks to streamline and enhance administrative efficiency. He dismissed the protest as politically motivated.

The standoff highlights ongoing tensions between Bihar’s local governance bodies and the state government, with mayors vowing to continue their protest until the bill is withdrawn.