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Chandigarh mayor apprised of civic issues
The issues included regulating the unauthorised use of loudspeakers by street vendors and solicitors, verifying vendor identities to curb crime and relocating the vendors in Sector 41.
Representatives from 96 residents’ welfare associations took part in a meeting of the Resident Associations’ Welfare Federation at the Community Centre, Sector 40, Chandigarh, on Sunday in which several civic issues were raised. Presided over by CRAWFED chairman Hitesh Puri, the meeting saw mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla as the chief guest.
The representatives raised concerns, including animal menace, roads and park conditions. A memorandum listing key municipal issues was submitted to the mayor. The demands included regulating the unauthorised use of loudspeakers by street vendors and solicitors, verifying vendor identities to curb crime and relocating the vendors in Sector 41 to their designated areas.
The memorandum further emphasised repairs for V5 and V6 roads, removal of junked vehicles, proper record-keeping of tree measurements and improved garbage management at collection centres.
The memorandum also called for measures for stray animal control and the implementation of a policy to curb begging. It opposed the takeover of parks maintained by RWAs and demanded timely release of maintenance funds.
Hitesh Puri emphasised the need for effective governance, advocating for an increase in the mayor’s term to five years for improved accountability. He suggested a public audit system to monitor fund expenditures and urged the mayor to explore alternative revenue sources from corporate sponsorships and advertisements rather than imposing financial burdens on residents.
CRAWFED general secretary Rajat Malhotra highlighted concerns regarding stray animals and called for effective measures to catch, vaccinate and sterilise them.
Maj. DP Singh, patron of CRAWFED, stressed the need for ID verification of street vendors to curb crimes like snatching and burglary. Umesh Ghai, senior vice chairman, urged officials to conduct regular on-ground inspections to ensure compliance with municipal regulations.
Councillor Gurbax Rawat assured that policy-related concerns raised by CRAWFED would be discussed in MC House meetings.
Representatives also raised the need for libraries and recreational facilities for senior citizens, operationalization of a toll-free helpline for grievances, regular inspections by officials, issuance of receipts for community centre booking charges and renaming community centres as city club or city centres.
Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla stated that the civic body was trying to get the pending works done on priority. “We will address the issues raised by residents. The city had no funds due to which works were pending,” she said. According to her, funds are expected to be released by March 10-15 following discussions with the UT administrator.
