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MC House unites against mayor not given due importance by Chandigarh admn
Protests against the Chandigarh admn for making the mayor stand behind chairs during a group photograph at the IAF Heritage Centre inauguration
The special House meeting of the municipal corporation (MC) on Saturday saw councillors across parties protesting unitedly against the UT administration for not giving the city mayor “due importance” during the IAF Heritage Centre inauguration on May 8.
The House took strong exception to mayor Anup Gupta — Chandigarh’s first citizen — being made to stand behind the chairs during a group photograph, where the front chairs were occupied by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit, UT adviser Dharam Pal, MP Kirron Kher and UT DGP Praveer Ranjan.
Even MC commissioner Anindita Mitra got a place in the front seats, along with several senior UT, IAF and police officials.
BJP councillor Saurabh Joshi said, “As per the Constitution, the mayor should be given full respect, akin to the administrator. MC will not invite UT officials in future inaugural events as they disrespected the mayor.”
“The House will express its resentment against UT through a written dossier,” Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat said.
Turns down integrated solid waste plant proposal
The House also turned down MC’s proposal of setting up an integrated solid waste plant at the Dadumajra landfill, citing that the mayor was not included in the high-powered committee to frame the project proposal.
Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi said the UT administration should have included the mayor, senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor as well as the area councillor in the committee, so that the project proposal would have elected representatives from the public.”
The councillors further said MC should have sent a request for proposal (RFP) document of the project in advance to allow them to examine it.
In 2021, IIT Ropar was appointed as technical consultant for setting up the new solid waste processing plant in Chandigarh, whereas in August 2022, the administration constituted the high-powered committee for technology finalisation, with members including the UT adviser, local government secretary, finance secretary, environment director, MC commissioner, MC chief engineer, MC superintendent engineer, municipal officer of health, and representatives from NEERI and IIT Ropar.
Aimed at effectively tackling the city’s daily waste generation of 550 metric tonnes (MT), the new plant, with a capacity of 600 MT per day, is proposed to comprise three facilities – one each for dry, wet and horticulture waste.
In February, too, the mayor had taken exception to the UT administration giving instructions to MC on smart parking before the project could be tabled in the House meeting.
The same month, the mayor had also stopped the administration from sealing Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Diagnostic Centre in Sector 24 over multiple building violations.
No to temporary wet waste plant
Meanwhile, the House also deferred the proposal of setting up a temporary plant at Dadumajra to process the city’s wet waste after area councillor Kuldeep Dhanor from AAP questioned why MC was setting up all waste plants in Dadumajra.
“MC should find an alternative site to set up temporary as well as integrated solid waste plant,” he said, adding that he will consult with area residents and decide on a temporary plant in the next General House meeting.
Agendas approved
The House approved the disbursement of remaining funds to bio-mine the 5.67 lakh MT legacy waste at Dadumajra landfill
The House also agrees to delink garbage charges from annual property tax bills for commercial properties in Chandigarh.
