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Poor sanitation, waterlogging rocks Mohali MC house
Voicing their fury, councillors said they felt helpless while facing the public due to poor upkeep of the city, especially when it came to sanitation
Convened after a gap of around six months, the Mohali MC House meeting on Thursday was marked by pandemonium as councillors slammed the officials for poor sanitation, failed drainage system, canine terror, and ill-maintained parks and public toilets.
Voicing their fury, councillors said they felt helpless while facing the public due to poor upkeep of the city, especially when it came to sanitation.
Senior district Congress leader and former senior deputy mayor Rishav Jain sought resignation of senior MC officers for not resolving public issues, especially waterlogging in low-lying areas, including Phases 11, 4 and 5, where rainwater even entered houses, leaving residents struggling to save their household belongings.
Talking about 1,200 houses in Phase 11, which got affected due to the monsoon fury last year, causing significant losses to residents, he blamed civic authorities for failing to equip the city with an effective drainage system.
“We have one generator and motor to pump out water. We still need another generator and pump to avoid waterlogging in front of the houses in Phase 11. Even after a ₹2.5-crore budget was passed in July last year for the same, we have yet to get relief due to lackadaisical approach of the officers here,” alleged Jain.
Responding to the issue, an MC officer said the main reason behind waterlogging in Phase 11 was installation of paver blocks outside parks for parking.
Councillor Baljit Kaur said residents in Phase 5 were also suffering as rainwater from Phase 4 entered their houses.
Councillors further complained about poor maintenance of gyms and insanitation in villages.
Councillor Narpinder Singh Rangi raised concerns over encroachment across the city, especially by hawkers who are not even paying fee to MC.
Meanwhile, mayor Amarjeet Singh Sidhu said a Noida-based firm had recently conducted a survey of the city’s drainage system. He said new pipes will have to be installed, which will cost over ₹50 crore to accommodate large amounts of rainwater to avoid waterlogging.
The mayor further added that as mechanical sweeping had already commenced in the city, there will be much improvement in sanitation works.
Mayor, Opposition lock horns over delayed meet
The Opposition councillors also questioned the long gap of six months between House meetings. Presenting the MC Act, councillor Sukhdev Singh Patwari said it mandated that the House meeting be convened at least once a month.
Patwari blamed the mayor for the delay and for the ruckus in the House due to long-pending demands of councillors.
In response, the mayor alleged that Patwari was hungry for media coverage, and was thus creating hue and cry in the House. “The last meeting was held on March 1, following which the code of conduct was enforced ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. After elections, I wrote letters to the officials to bring important files to prepare an agenda for the meeting,” he said.
Meanwhile, sanitation workers staged a protest outside the MC office in Sector 68, accusing MC officials of not including their issues in the House meeting agenda. Miffed, they announced to go on an indefinite strike, refusing to collect garbage or perform any cleaning duties.
Councillors can soon access meeting details online
Mohali MC will soon make all details of MC House meetings or general operations online.
Councillors will be able to access the House proceedings or meeting agenda online through the website of the local bodies government department.
The mayor said this will eliminate the use of paper in future House meetings. All 13 MCs in Punjab will follow the same process.
