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Chandigarh: Mayor defers House meeting on financial crisis till Oct 21
It has been done as new MC commissioner is expected to take over in a week. The Union government had on October 5 appointed Amit Kumar, a 2008 batch IAS officer, as the new municipal commissioner for Chandigarh over a month after Anindita Mitra was relieved from the charge.
City mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor has postponed the plan of holding a special House meeting to discuss the financial crisis and amendments to the MC Act to ease the procedure of mayor elections. He has called a general House meeting on October 21.
Dhalor was planning to hold a special House meeting on October 14 or 15 as acting municipal commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh, according to information, is to be relieved on October 16. “Since the Union ministry appointed a new municipal commissioner (Amit Kumar) for the Chandigarh MC on October 5, we are anticipating his joining by next week. We instead decidedto call the F&CC meeting on October 19 and the general House meeting on October 21so that discussions can be held and development works canalso be taken up for approval,” said Dhalor.
The tenure of Anindita Mitra, a 2007-batch Punjab cadre IAS officer, had ended on August 22.
In the midst of a severe financial crisis plaguing the Chandigarh MC, forcing it to halt the tendering process for development projects since May, BJP councillors have called for a special all-party meeting to strategise solutions for the fiscal turmoil. In a heated session during the last MC House meeting, the BJP councillors raised concerns over the stalled developmental works. Also, after the controversial mayoral elections in January this year, the city mayor, supported by AAP, is now pushing for amendments to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations 1996 to conduct free and fair elections of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. Though various recommendations can be made, the AAP is proposing a resolution to include two IAS officers (municipal commissioner and deputy commissioner) in the House when the presiding officer, who is a nominated councillor, will count the votes polled for the post of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.
