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Ambala MC passes ₹138 crore budget amid ruckus at House meeting
During the Ambala MC House meet,the income was estimated at ₹138 crore, while the expenditure was approximated at ₹119 crore
The municipal corporation (MC) on Monday passed its annual budget for the financial year 2022-23 at its House meeting held at Panchayat Bhawan in Ambala city and estimated an income of ₹138 crore, while the expenditure was approximated at ₹119 crore .
The civic body has proposed to receive ₹55 crore as grants from Union and state finance commissions and aims to receive ₹25 crore from property tax and ₹15 crore each from stamp duty and door-to-door user charges.
On the expenditure front amounting to ₹119 crore, the MC has proposed to spend a maximum of ₹28 crore on salaries, followed by ₹16 crore on cleanliness and waste management, ₹15 crore on door-to-door garbage collection.
The fifth meeting comes over a month after the previous was postponed by mayor Shakti Rani Sharma, who demanded the arrest and disqualification of Rubi Sauda, a Haryana Democratic Front (HDF) councillor who has been accused of murder.
Divisional commissioner Renu Phulia, however, recently ruled in favour of the councillor and in effect upheld her house membership. Sauda attended the house meeting.
Ruckus broke out right at the start of the meeting as House member from the HDF, Tony Chaudhary protested against the alleged corruption in door-to-door garbage collection. He demanded a probe into the service while wearing props and calling out names.
“I’ve raised the issue earlier too and had gone to collect documents related to the same last week at the MC office. Later, a group of men gathered outside my residence and protested against me. A private person has been running the door-to-door service without authorization,” the councillor claimed.
Chaudhary also confronted concerned sanitation employees and their aides at the gate of Panchayat Bhawan, following which police were called in. The men accused the councillor of misbehaving and asking “monthly” from the contractor. DSP Joginder Sharma and other senior cops pacified both the parties.
Ward members from Haryana Jan Chetna Party demanded clarity on the ongoing probe done in laying of sewage pipes under the Amrut Yojana, an issue flagged by Rajesh Mehta last year. A probe had been ordered by the-then commissioner Dhirendra Khadgata.
Speaking about the same, chief engineer Mahipal said a report has been submitted to additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Sachin Gupta. The mayor asked him to arrange a meeting of the concerned ward members with Gupta to apprise them of the probe findings.
Speaking to the media after the conclusion of the meeting, the mayor said, “The budget will ensure that an all-round development takes place in the city. To look into discrepancies on the issues of no-dues certificates (NDC) and property IDs, a committee will be constituted.”
