Chandigarh: Mayor, councillors to meet governor on Feb 21

After a challenging 2024-25 fiscal with fast-depleting coffers, MC is staring at another tough year as the Chandigarh administration has allocated a grant-in-aid of just ₹625 crore for 2025-26, far short of its demand of ₹1,704 crore

Amid the rising financial crisis in the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC), mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla, along with councillors from various parties, is set to meet Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on February 21 for an “informal” discussion.

After Babla’s victory in the mayoral elections in January, BJP’s Chandigarh unit president Jatinder Malhotra had announced that the Centre had approved a special grant of ₹92 crore. However, the MC is yet to receive these funds, adding to the uncertainty surrounding its financial stability. (HT Photo)

Development works across the city have been stalled since May 2024 due to the financial crisis. UT administrator Kataria has, in multiple meetings, denied special grant to the civic body and directed MC officials and councillors to curtail the expenses and focus on improving the corporation’s own revenue generation.

“I had requested the administrator for an appointment, and he has invited us to the Governor House on February 21. This is an informal meeting, and we do not have a specific agenda in mind. We will discuss various issues concerning the city’s betterment,” said Babla.

Since assuming office on January 30, Babla has met the administrator multiple times, pressing for an urgent additional grant of ₹170 crore to help the financially strained MC meet its liabilities, including salary payments, pensions, electricity bills, fuel costs, and other essential expenditures for February and March 2025.

After Babla’s victory in the mayoral elections in January, BJP’s Chandigarh unit president Jatinder Malhotra had announced that the Centre had approved a special grant of ₹92 crore. However, the MC is yet to receive these funds, adding to the uncertainty surrounding its financial stability.

After a challenging 2024-25 fiscal with fast-depleting coffers, MC is staring at another tough year as the Chandigarh administration has allocated a grant-in-aid of just ₹625 crore for 2025-26, far short of its demand of ₹1,704 crore.

The funds will once again be insufficient to cover MC’s committed liabilities of around ₹900 crore.