Amid escalating financial challenges in the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC), Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria is set to attend and address the General House meeting on November 23.
The governor’s approval to attend the meeting was followed by a request made by city mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor, who met him on Wednesday to discuss the urgent need for financial support. During the meeting, Dhalor pressed his demand for a special grant of ₹200 crore to the corporation, emphasising the importance of resuming stalled development projects across Chandigarh.
“For the past few months, we have been requesting the administrator to release an immediate special grant of ₹200 crore to resume development works in the city. Though we are working to increase MC’s own revenue, a special grant is required to start the stalled works immediately. Besides the special grant, I urged the governor to attend the upcoming House meeting, where city councillors are expected to raise pressing concerns related to finances and other civic issues,” said Dhalor, adding that the governor has assured all possible help.
At present, the civic body is grappling with a severe financial crunch, forcing it to halt all development-related works since May this year. For the MC, the crisis is so severe that it has even put the already long-pending road carpeting work on hold and uncertainty looms over the release of salaries for its staff for the coming months.
{{/usCountry}}At present, the civic body is grappling with a severe financial crunch, forcing it to halt all development-related works since May this year. For the MC, the crisis is so severe that it has even put the already long-pending road carpeting work on hold and uncertainty looms over the release of salaries for its staff for the coming months.
{{/usCountry}}The governor had earlier rejected the special grant for the MC. While holding a review meeting over MC’s budgetary concerns on October 24, the governor had directed the corporation to “cut down on annual expenses, increase revenue from own sources, and strategies to improve fiscal health”. Besides, the UT administration also turned down the mayor’s proposal of transferring the registration and license authority (RLA) department to the civic authority.
be for the second time in MC’s current term when the governor will attend its House meeting and address the councilloThis will rs. On January 30 last year, the then governor Banwari Lal Purohit had attended the first House meeting of the then mayor Anup Gupta. Gupta had invited him to seek his blessings and raise key concerns impacting the MC.