Need ₹200 crore urgently to resume development, MC writes to Chandigarh admn

In a letter to the UT local bodies secretary, the MC joint commissioner said, “In the last 10 years, the expenditure of MC has increased by 121% against a corresponding increase in grant-in-aid to the tune of 70%.”

A month after mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor’s letter to Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) has once again requested the UT administration to release an additional grant of ₹200 crore to resume development works in the city.

Plagued by severe financial crisis, the Chandigarh municipal corporation had halted all development projects in May. (HT File)

Plagued by severe financial crisis, the civic body had halted all development projects in May.

In a letter to the UT local bodies secretary, the MC joint commissioner said, “In the last 10 years, the expenditure of MC has increased by 121% against a corresponding increase in grant-in-aid to the tune of 70%. Further, no revenue generating departments have been transferred to the civic body. The corporation is not getting its shares in the electricity duty to the tune of ₹40 crore as calculated in the budget for this fiscal.”

“Furthermore, with the implementation of 7th Central Pay Commission, the wages of the contractual and daily wage staff have also enhanced. Moreover, the DC rates in Chandigarh have also been revised. Even a handsome amount has been incurred on paying the arrears of 6th Pay Commission and payment of arrears of 7th Pay Commission is still pending,” said the joint commissioner.

“In light of the facts mentioned, it is requested that the matter may kindly be taken up with the finance department for release of ₹200 crore, in addition to the existing grant to the MC,” the MC requested.

In a heated session during the last MC House meeting on September 26, the BJP councillors had raised concerns over stalled developmental works in the city. Lashing out at the AAP-Congress alliance, BJP councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu had said MC was about to face a deficit of ₹125 crore this fiscal.

However, the mayor is planning to hold a special House meeting in mid-October to hold a detailed discussion on the financial crisis.

Senior deputy mayor seeks UT’s attention to MC issues

Senior deputy mayor Kuljeet Singh Sandhu also met Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Saturday, requesting immediate attention to key issues pertaining to the civic body.

“Recently, MC issued notices of removing illegal schools running across Chandigarh. But it is worth mentioning that those schools operate within the designated Lal Dora area, and hence are legal. Therefore, I request you to reconsider this notice and ensure the continuous operation of the schools,” the senior deputy mayor said.

He further said the 23 villages of Chandigarh had unplanned infrastructure and narrow streets. Due to insufficient parking space, residents were forced to park their vehicles on streets. Due to this, garbage vans struggle to navigate and collect waste from residents’ houses, adding to overflowing garbage and creating unhealthy environment in the streets. “I request you to designate parking areas and create designated garbage collection centres in the villages so that garbage collection becomes easy,” he added.