Election procedure of candidates who become members of the legislative assembly
Answers
The role of a state elected representative — Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) – is not always clearly understood. The common misconception is that an MLA is responsible for resolving basic civic concerns like waste management, sewage treatment, construction of roads and the supply of basic utilities like water.
These bodies were empowered to address micro-civic concerns, bringing about “greater decentralisation and involvement of the community in planning and implementing schemes and, thus, increase accountability,” says this erstwhile Planning Commission report.
Unfortunately, the laws passed to encourage such governance and devolve power to a third tier of government has not even come close to realising its true potential thanks to concerns like a lack of funds, capacity, and accountability.
The inability to devolve real powers to municipalities and panchayats has left citizens seeking the intervention of MLAs or MPs in local issues, bypassing the very arms of government that were created to address them.
MLAs and MPs, meanwhile, respond to these demands out of fear of blowback from voters. However, what this has done is to shift their attention from the real responsibilities laid out above — enact laws, ratify public expenditure and to hold the government accountable.