Allegations, counter allegations, heated arguments, slogan raising, character assassination and more!
With elections round the corner, the general house meeting of the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) on Tuesday witnessed high drama after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors engaged in heated arguments over a press conference convened by an AAP councillor earlier this month in which he levelled allegations of corruption against five BJP councillors. Mayor Saurabh Joshi suspended the AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra following a voting system as he found the allegations unfounded and without evidence.
This caused more uproar in the already heated house.
It all started when councillor Gurbax Rawat moved a censure motion against AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra for allegedly “tarnishing” the image of the House by levelling corruption allegations against the councillors.
Rawat alleged that Dhingra, at a press conference, had raised false allegations of financial transactions and corruption in the MC in connection with getting agendas passed in the House.
As the mayor questioned Dhingra in the House and also played an audio recording of the press conference, Dhingra said a pen drive containing all such proof had also been submitted to the director general of police (DGP) along with a detailed complaint, demanding immediate registration of FIRs. Joshi gave Dhingra 30 minutes to divulge the names of the five councillors, failing which, action would be taken against him as per the law. Replying to the censure motion, Dhingra read out the complaint submitted to the DGP.
Joshi said no councillor was allowed to level baseless allegations against anyone and the dignity of the House is to be maintained.
{{/usCountry}}Joshi said no councillor was allowed to level baseless allegations against anyone and the dignity of the House is to be maintained.
{{/usCountry}}The mayor said that since Dhingra had failed to divulge the names of the five councillors, he was issuing him a warning under Section 62 of the Municipal Corporation Act (maintenance of order at meetings).
However, BJP councillors demanded Dhingra’s suspension from the House. The mayor then ordered voting on the issue. Following the voting, the mayor suspended Dhingra for the remaining proceedings of the House.
Later, the AAP strongly condemned the suspension of its chief spokesperson and elected councillor Yogesh Dhingra from the Chandigarh MC house. The party said that instead of responding to serious questions relating to alleged corruption and financial transactions, the BJP chose to take action against the elected representative who raised those questions.
House clears interim advertising policy for public toilets
The municipal corporation (MC) House on Tuesday approved a proposal to allow interim advertising on public toilet blocks, connecting passages and cycle docking station sites until the ongoing tender process is finalised. The decision is aimed at generating revenue for the civic body during the period in which fresh tenders are being processed.
Under the approved arrangement, individuals will be allowed to advertise on the sites on a first-come, first-served basis. The permissions will be issued on a monthly basis and will remain valid only till the allotment of the sites through the tender process.
The proposal covers 464 public toilet and connecting passage sites, comprising 320 public toilet blocks and 144 connecting passages, besides 62 cycle docking station sites. The MC had earlier estimated the advertising potential of the public toilet blocks and connecting passages at around ₹76 crore, while the estimated value for cycle docking stations was around ₹6 crore.
The House also approved changes in the terms, including a reduction in the licence fee and an increase in the initial tenure. The annual escalation in the licence fee will now be 5 per cent instead of 10 per cent.
MC officials said the tender for advertising rights had failed four times. According to officials, the relatively high licence fee, the size and specifications of the unipoles being unsuitable for advertisers, and the earlier tenure structure were among the factors discouraging participation in the tendering process.
Officials said that since conducting the fresh tender process would take additional time, continuing without an interim arrangement could result in a loss of revenue to the MC. The first-come, first-served mechanism has therefore been approved as a temporary measure, with advertising permissions subject to the applicable provisions of the Chandigarh Advertisement Control Order, 1954.
The House also passed the Solid Waste Management Bye-Laws, 2026. However, no increase has been made in the existing door-to-door garbage collection charges for residents.
Sec-45 sehaj safai kendra (SSK) no longer a dumping site for Burail
The MC on Tuesday approved the memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at providing relief to residents of Sectors-45 and 46 from the dumping of waste generated in Burail at the (sehaj safai kendra) SSK site in Sector 45.
Ward 34 councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi said that the MoU was approved after nearly four years of sustained efforts eliminating the inconvenience to local residents.