Chandigarh mayor flags staff crunch, fund gaps; seeks UT administrator’s intervention

Chandigarh mayor seeks administrator’s intervention to address officer shortage amid expanding MC limits, release of city’s pending revenue dues

Giving voice to the mounting civic and administrative concerns in the city, Chandigarh mayor Saurabh Joshi has written to UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, seeking urgent intervention to address staff shortages, financial constraints and delays affecting the municipal corporation’s functioning.

Raising financial concerns, Joshi pointed to a sharp drop in revenue from cow cess following a reduction in rates in 2023. (HT Photo)

In his communication, the mayor flagged a shortage of senior HCS/PCS/DANICS officers, saying the growing administrative workload had stretched the civic body’s capacity to deliver services.

With the city’s population having expanded significantly and the municipal corporation now covering the entire city, departments such as solid waste management, taxation, vendor regulation and public grievances are under increasing pressure. However, only two officers are currently posted against the earlier norm of three, affecting decision-making.

The mayor also highlighted the absence of a regular chief engineer, stating that key civic works, including roads, public health, electrical maintenance and sanitation, required dedicated technical supervision. The current additional charge arrangement, he said, was affecting efficiency and timely execution of development works.

Raising financial concerns, Joshi pointed to a sharp drop in revenue from cow cess following a reduction in rates in 2023. He said the decline had severely impacted funding for cow welfare initiatives such as fodder, healthcare, shelter management and a proposed veterinary hospital at Raipur Kalan, and called for a revision in the upcoming Excise Policy.

To strengthen the civic body’s finances, the mayor also suggested exploring additional revenue avenues, including a nominal cow cess on property registrations and rationalisation of vehicle-related charges, on the lines of other major cities.

Calling the issues urgent, the mayor sought a meeting with the administrator at the earliest, stressing that timely intervention was necessary to ensure efficient delivery of civic services to residents and support the city’s development goals.