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Amid fund crunch, Chandigarh councillors pack bags for another study tour
Utilising annual study tour allocation of ₹50 lakh, councillors from all parties are planning a trip to Kochi, Lakshadweep, Guwahati or Meghalaya to study their cleanliness and development projects
In the midst of a severe financial crisis facing the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) and perpetual controversies surrounding such trips, city councillors from all parties are once again preparing for a study tour — this time looking to pick from Kochi, Lakshadweep, Guwahati or Meghalaya.
Despite its pressing financial issues, which have brought new developmental projects to a complete halt, MC allocates ₹50 lakh annually for councillors’ study tours, raising significant concerns about its priorities.
Various councillors from Congress, AAP and BJP discussed the locations and projects for study with city mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor on Monday.
As per officials, the councillors are considering visiting Kochi, along with Lakshadweep, to study their cleanliness projects, while Guwahati and Meghalaya were shortlisted for their “Smart Villages” project, apart from some other cities in south India.
“Surat and Navi Mumbai were also considered, as the cities bagged tops positions in the annual cleanliness campaign. We are still mulling what projects will be best to study from different MCs. We are yet to finalise the location. These visits are solely aimed at examining projects or new initiatives in other cities with the goal of applying them locally. These are not leisure trips,” said mayor Dhalor.
The locations, total number of councillors attending the tour and the budget has not been finalised for this year, as of now. However, the councillors plan to go in the last week of September.
Congress president HS Lucky, said, “We support study tours as they provide knowledge to the city councillors. However, the locations should be decided fairly on the basis of projects and learning, and the tour should not be considered as a leisure activity.”
No new development tender since May
The study tour comes at a time when MC has been unable to float any new tender for development projects since May this year, bringing the city’s growth to a complete standstill.
All civic works, including those already approved by the finance and contract committee (F&CC) and the MC General House, have been stalled. This includes road carpeting, laying of paver blocks, renovation and upgrade of community centres, beautification of markets, improvements to public toilets and cremation grounds, and horticulture-related projects. The suspension of these projects is a direct result of the civic body’s worsening financial condition.
Amid this, the timing and the scale of the study tours raises questions about the corporation’s commitment to addressing more pressing civic issues, more so when the tours appear to bring no change on the ground.
“MC has halted all new tenders of developmental works due to the financial crisis, but councillors cannot miss their tours. Also, the tours do not bring any results, as for the past two years, councillors have been studying waste management plants in different cities, but Chandigarh MC has yet to float the tender for the new integrated plant and legacy waste continues to pile up in the city,” said MC officials.
After opposition last year, AAP too jumps on bandwagon
Interestingly, the AAP-led mayor and councillors have also voiced support for the study tour after boycotting a similar tour to Goa last year.
The BJP and Congress councillors, led by then mayor Anup Gupta, had visited Goa last year to look into the working of the state’s garbage processing plant. For the first time ever, MC had also taken a few residents from Dadumajra to Goa.
The AAP councillors, along with their party leaders, had then held a press conference and criticised the study tour, accusing the BJP and the Congress of making money from the Dadumajra garbage dump.
“The BJP and Congress councillors who have gone on the tour are accompanied by their spouses. Why should the taxpayers of Chandigarh pay for the travel expenses of these people. The Dadumajra dumping ground is the reason why people live near it suffer from various diseases, including cancer. Why was no initiative taken to solve this issue first? We condemn this wastage of public money through such useless tours,” the AAP councillors had said last year.
In 2022, during mayor Sarbjit Kaur’s tenure, the councillors had initially planned a tour to Goa and Mumbai. However, then Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit had rejected the proposal, redirecting the tour to Indore and Nagpur, which they eventually visited. Councillors from all parties had attended the tour.
