Under fire for splurging public money on study tours, Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) has now renamed it as capacity building-cum-exposure programme. The finance and contract committee meeting chaired by mayor Raj Bala Malik approved ₹50 lakh under this head for the fiscal year 2020-21 on Monday.
Sources in the MC said that the name has been changed to deflect public attention since most residents welfare associations (RWAs) were critical of the wastage of public money on these study tours, which even the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report pointed out were of no use for the city.
While mayor Malik has said that there is nothing wrong in training councillors, there are occasions in the past when the councillors missed important conferences and seminars on public issues in Chandigarh itself.
The latest was the smart city conference and national dog menace seminar hosted by the MC in October 2019, in which majority of the 35 elected and nominated councillors were absent.
AMBIGUITY PREVAILS, RWA SLAMS MC
Even though the MC has given its nod, there is a huge ambiguity as to how the MC will decide training programme for councillors.
Vinod Vashisht, convener, City Forum of Residents Welfare Organisations (CFORWO), said that this is nothing but another way to waste public money. “If councillors are so serious about capacity building, they should start from their home town that has several prestigious institutes for training in public administration and policy making decisions,” said Vashisht.
{{/usCountry}}Vinod Vashisht, convener, City Forum of Residents Welfare Organisations (CFORWO), said that this is nothing but another way to waste public money. “If councillors are so serious about capacity building, they should start from their home town that has several prestigious institutes for training in public administration and policy making decisions,” said Vashisht.
{{/usCountry}}He added, “But as seen in past, our elected representatives often want exposure in tourist places like Kerala, Leh, Andaman and Nicobar, exposing their intent rather than making the right use of public money.”
CRAWFED chairman Hitesh Puri said the MC should frame proper rules as to how this ₹50 lakh for capacity building programme will be spent. “Otherwise it will be misused likewise on study tours,” he said.
Leader of opposition Devinder Babla of the Congress too said that the MC should frame proper guidelines to rule out ambiguity.
MC, so far, has spent ₹2.5 crore on study tours but all in vain. There were instances in the past when councillors even took their family members along, and had to reimburse money after media reports.