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Mayor-led finance panel comes under fire at Mohali MC meeting
26 of 50 Mohali councillors submit signed petition, demanding withdrawal of finance panel’s power to approve projects worth up to ₹1 crore
Ruckus marked the monthly meeting of the Mohali municipal corporation after 26 of the total 50 councillors signed a petition demanding withdrawal of powers sanctioned to the civic body’s finance and contract committee (F&CC).
Meeting after three months, since the last MC House meeting on April 30, 26 councillors raised questions over the functioning of F&CC, which has the authority to approve development works worth up to ₹1 crore.
They alleged that the committee – which is led by the mayor and includes the senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor and two councillors as members – had approved the agenda of a certain councillor’s ward without informing them.
Demanding that all agendas be tabled before the MC House, they submitted their petition to MC commissioner Navjot Kaur and MLA Kulwant Singh.
Councillor Manjit Singh Sethi alleged that the finance panel was working as per the whims and fancies of certain councillors, while the development works in most of the wards were suffering. “A total of 26 councillors have signed the petition, demanding withdrawal of powers of the finance panel,” he said.
Lashing out at the mayor, former senior deputy mayor and Congress leader Rishiv Jain alleged that despite approval of a ₹1.17-crore project to solve water logging in his ward, nothing had been done.
On the other hand, caught unawares amid the uproar, mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu alleged that some opposition councillors had made the Congress councillors sign the petition by keeping them in the dark. “We have full support of all Congress councillors,” he claimed.
Notably, elected last year on a Congress ticket, Amarjit, along with his brother and former cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, had joined the BJP on June 4.
But despite his switch and the Congress having the majority in the 50-member MC House, Amarjit continues to hold the mayor’s seat, purportedly with the support of the Congress councillors.
A month after his departure, the Congress high command on July 8 had suspended senior deputy mayor Amrik Singh Somal and deputy mayor Kuljeet Singh Bedi over anti-party activities for six years.
AAP MLA Kulwant Singh, who is an ex-officio member of MC and attended the House meeting for the first time after winning the Mohali assembly seat, said, “I will take up the matter with the local bodies department and make sure that the F&CC’s powers are withdrawn.”
Agendas approved without discussion
Amid the commotion, the MC House approved all development agendas without any discussion. The agendas included awarding contracts to catch stray animals and sterilisation of stray canines.
The House also approved extension of the agreement for collecting plastic waste and increase in the cost of development work of a park in Phase 3B2, apart from other development works.
Congress presents a divided house
Facing turmoil since mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu’s switch to the BJP on June 4, the Congress, which has a majority of 36 councillors in the MC House of 50, was seen divided at the meeting.
Of the 26 councillors who signed the petition demanding withdrawal of powers of the finance panel, led by the mayor, 12 were from the Congress, who came together with the 11 Azad Group councillors, two independents and one SAD councillor.
Of the 36 Congress councillors, 12 were seen raising questions to mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu with the Azad Group councillors, who are supported by the AAP.
This, despite Amarjit’s steady claim of having the support of as many as 40 councillors, including some of the Azad Group that was formed by former Mohali mayor and current AAP MLA Kulwant Singh.
Taking a jibe at the mayor, Kulwant Singh said this was just a trailer. “Wait and watch. The mayor will be on his way out soon. A big change will be brought in the Mohali municipal corporation,” he said.
On the other hand, Amarjit said the MLA was trying to slow down the city’s development by “playing tricks”, which will not be tolerated.
He said he and his team were committed towards Mohali’s development and if the MLA wanted to make political moves, he will also come prepared next time.
Notably, to execute a no-trust motion against the mayor, a minimum of five councillors will have to file objections against him, after which a date will be set to vote for it. The success of the no-trust motion will require the presence of a minimum of 35 councillors.
