Give mayors real powers, ensure timely civic audits, urban body heads tell Centre

Even as the Centre moots directly elected mayors with a fixed five-year tenure and a mayor-in-council system, municipal heads from different cities at National Urban Conclave flagged that the move would serve little purpose without giving mayors adequate powers. Rajkot mayor Nehal Shukla also called for time-bound financial audits of civic bodies, saying that “no municipal body can function without financial irregularities”.