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Chandigarh MC General House meeting:Opposition cries foul, says projects worth ₹100 crore passed sans discussion
The AAP city chief said that rules require all agendas for House meetings to be circulated to councillors in advance so that they can study them, seek clarifications from officials, and discuss them in the public interest.
A day after table agendas worth over ₹100 crore were ‘hastily’ passed during the General House meeting of the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC), a political storm erupted on Friday with councillors of both Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled MC of destroying the democratic process and allegedly misusing taxpayers’ money.
The MC House meeting on Thursday had started at 11.15 am with a welcome address by mayor Saurabh Joshi. MC officials were in full attendance with the required quorum met. However, it was only at 3.40 pm that the minutes of the previous meetings could be confirmed as councillors had multiple objections to the same. All the preceding hours were consumed by chaos and heated discussions over various issues, including delay in clearance of legacy waste at Dadumajra dumping ground, protests over Sehej Safai Kendras, lack of sanitation in southern sectors etc. At one point, the arguments in the House got so heated up that the mayor had to adjourn the House for sometime.
It was only around 4 pm that the councillors started to deliberate on the main and supplementary agendas.
Table agendas handed over in evening
Around 4.30 pm, the table agendas were handed to the councillors and passed even as AAP and Congress councillors raised a hue and cry stating that they should at least get some time to go through these. Table agenda refers to last-minute or urgent items introduced at the beginning of a meeting, often added after the formal, pre-circulated agenda has been sent out. These items are literally placed “on the table” for immediate discussion or approval, frequently used in formal board meetings to handle urgent, unexpected matters.
The Opposition councillors questioned the manner in which key proposals such as the reconstruction of two multi-level parking facilities in Sector-17 and the modernisation of the city’s multispecies abattoir in Industrial Area Phase-I, among others, were passed without any discussion.
Destroying democratic processes: AAP
Addressing mediapersons, AAP Chandigarh president Vijaypal Singh, leader of Opposition Hardeep Singh Buterla, former mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor, and chief spokesperson Yogesh Dhingra jointly raised concerns over the functioning of the MC and accused the BJP and Congress of destroying democratic processes, misusing taxpayers’ money, and reducing the civic body to a “rubber-stamp institution.”
The AAP city chief said that rules require all agendas for House meetings to be circulated to councillors in advance so that they can study them, seek clarifications from officials, and discuss them in the public interest. “This system has completely collapsed. Supplementary agendas are now circulated late at night and passed the very next morning without any discussion or debate,” he said.
Singh added that in all, projects worth nearly ₹190 crore (including table and supplementary agendas) were approved, without giving councillors sufficient time to read the proposals.
AAP leaders questioned why major projects were being approved without transparency and debate when the city continues to suffer from poor roads, sanitation issues, and lack of basic civic facilities.
Leader of Opposition Buterla said that in the last 20 years, he had never witnessed such a situation where agendas involving crores of rupees were passed without even being properly read or discussed.
Proper procedure not followed: Congress
Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee president HS Lucky said the MC and the BJP are not following proper procedures.
“According to established rules, any agenda must be shared with councillors at least 72 hours in advance so they can prepare thoroughly, discuss it properly, and present their views. Due to BJP’s haste and negligence, the 24x7 water project in Manimajra has completely failed, and similar reports of corruption have surfaced in several other projects,” he said.
Lucky also targeted the AAP, saying the party is merely trying to maintain its political identity by accusing Congress and BJP, while it has no substantial record of work in Chandigarh. “Only a few councilors remain in AAP now, and it remains to be seen whether they too distance themselves soon.
The city Congress chief further said that any agendas hurriedly passed at the table, against councillors’ objections, should be brought back to the House for proper discussion and decision.
The ‘questionable’ table agendas
The table agendas included the re-construction of the existing multi-level parking near the 30 bays building in Sector-17, estimated at ₹24.69 crore. As per the agenda, the structure has been declared unsafe by IIT Roorkee and is currently lying abandoned, leading to congestion in nearby parking areas. The MC had sought technical inputs and drawings from the UT administration’s engineering wing (CAUT), and the project is planned for execution in 2026-27 under the Capital head “civic work.”
Similarly, a table agenda proposed the re-construction of another multi-level parking facility near the 17 bays building and Telephone Exchange in Sector-17, estimated at ₹16.62 crore. As per the proposal, this structure has also been declared unsafe and remains closed, contributing to parking congestion in the area.
The third and most expensive table agenda related to the modernisation of the multispecies abattoir complex in Industrial Area Phase-I, with an estimated cost of ₹48.88 crore. The existing slaughterhouse, established in 2000 with an effluent treatment plant added in 2008, has become outdated and non-compliant with current environmental and public health norms. The modernisation plan includes upgrading waste treatment systems, installing modern machinery, and improving hygiene and animal welfare standards.
