Rising above party lines, councillors from all political parties opposed the municipal corporation’s (MC) move to lay off staff and demanded that 664 tubewell operators should not be rendered jobless during the monthly House meeting held on Tuesday.
Last month, in a major cost-cutting move triggered by a deepening fiscal crisis, the municipal corporation had decided not to renew the contracts of 332 outsourced multi-task workers employed at tubewells across the city. This decision followed an internal assessment conducted by the engineering department. However, in the House meeting held on Tuesday, the MC decided revised the move and terminate 100% of its existing tubewell staff. The MC operates 130 tubewells and 34 boosters across Chandigarh. Until now, these 664 workers had been managing these facilities on a contractual basis.
Heated arguments broke out between BJP councillor Kanwarjit Singh Rana and MC commissioner Amit Kumar over the issue. Kumar submitted a dissent note, stating, “We have granted them an extension till June 30, but a fresh tender will be floated thereafter.”
Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla responded, saying, “We will take up the issue with the UT administrator and stand with the House on this matter.”
{{/usCountry}}Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla responded, saying, “We will take up the issue with the UT administrator and stand with the House on this matter.”
{{/usCountry}}On Tuesday, the tubewell operators staged a protest outside the MC office, demanding the continuation of their services.
Rana said the livelihoods of over 600 families were at stake and urged the House to support the reinstatement of the terminated employees. He maintained that his sole intent was to advocate for the rights of corporation workers. He also warned that if the employees were not reinstated, he would stage a protest within the civic body.
Congress councillor Jasbir Singh Bunty echoed similar sentiments, demanding the immediate reinstatement of the operators. He questioned, “When the entire House supports their reinstatement, why is the mayor not approving it?”.
Following this, mayor Babla also voiced her support, firmly stating that not even a single employee of the corporation should be removed from their post.
However, MC commissioner Amit Kumar maintained a different stance. While acknowledging the sentiments and collective will of the House, he emphasised that given the current financial condition of the municipal corporation, he was compelled to register a formal dissent. He reiterated that no one is above the law and the final decision rests with the administration.
The issue remains under consideration, with the commissioner’s dissent setting the stage for further deliberations.
Where’s ₹238 crore-grant, question AAP, Congress
As the House meeting began, councillors from the AAP and the Congress protested against the poor financial condition of the civic body. They raised slogans and carried placards, questioning the mayor’s earlier assurance of a ₹238-crore grant. They asked, “The mayor had assured us of a ₹238-crore grant, so where is it?”
Councillors lament MC inaction
During the House meeting, AAP councillor from Mauli Jagran, Suman Sharma, raised concerns about the supply of muddy water in Mauli Jagran and Manimajra. Sharma brought a bottle filled with muddy water to the House to illustrate the deteriorating water quality and expressed resentment over the lack of action.
Another AAP councillor, Prem Lata, highlighted the issue of erratic water supply in her ward. She said despite repeated requests to the officials, no steps had been taken to resolve the problem.
BJP councillor Jasman Singh complained that residents living in multi-storeyed buildings were suffering as water did not reach the upper floors. “Multiple complaints to the MC chief engineer have fallen on deaf ears,” he added.
AAP councillor Damanjit Singh raised the issue of rampant encroachments at the Sector 22 market. He alleged that despite his written complaint to the officer concerned, the menace was continuing unabated. Echoing similar concerns, BJP councillor Kuljeet Singh Randhawa accused officials of failing to control encroachment across the city. “They are following a pick-and-choose policy instead of enforcing the law uniformly,” he said.
Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi demanded the shutdown of the pilot 24x7 water supply project in Manimajra, alleging massive cost escalations and financial irregularities.
He pointed out that while the project was initially estimated at ₹500 crore, the revised cost was projected to rise to ₹1,400 crore. He also highlighted that a consultancy fee of ₹29 crore—nearly 8% of the total project cost—had already been paid, which was unheard of anywhere in the world.
He urged that a thorough vigilance probe be conducted to investigate the project’s finances and decision-making process.
Former mayor corners MC chief engineer over alleged bypass of tender process
Former mayor and senior BJP leader Anup Gupta took on the municipal corporation’s chief engineer, Sanjay Arora, during the House meeting for allegedly bypassing the tender process and awarding the city’s horticulture waste management project to M/s Hardicon Limited, a public sector undertaking.
Meanwhile, MC commissioner Amit Kumar ordered an inquiry into the matter and stated that strict action will be taken against any official found responsible. “The agreement will be cancelled and a fresh tender will be floated,” he assured the House.
The project involves setting up a 60-tonne-per-day horticulture waste plant at an estimated cost of ₹3 crore, which the company plans to recover within a year through the sale of processed material. The company will operate the plant for 10 years and retain all profits, while the municipal corporation is not expected to earn any revenue from the arrangement.
Gupta said about a month ago, he had written to the chief engineer, seeking a detailed clarification regarding the nomination of M/s Hardicon Limited. In his letter, he had questioned whether any Expression of Interest (EOI) or Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued, and whether the provisions of the General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines and the Manual of Procurement of Works 2022 were followed. However, he has yet to receive a reply.
During the House meeting, Arora appeared on the back foot. Though he stated that he was in the process of retrieving the file related to the project, he failed to provide any satisfactory explanation.
Gupta termed the move financially irresponsible, particularly at a time when the municipal corporation is already facing a severe cash crunch. He also raised concerns about the firm’s experience in horticulture waste management, pointing to reports which suggested that the company may outsource operations to a third party.