LMC House sees storm over city’s civic mess

Corporators from BJP, Congress and Samajwadi Party unite to expose civic lapses, accuse officials and private agency contracted for waste management of negligence

LUCKNOW Broken roads, waterlogging, damaged sewer lines, missing streetlights and poor waste collection dominated the House proceedings at Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) headquarters on Thursday. The session, the first since Lucknow secured third rank among the cleanest cities in the country in the million-plus population category in Swachh Shahar Awards in July, saw corporators from BJP, Congress and Samajwadi Party united in exposing civic lapses, accusing officials and the private agency contracted for waste management of negligence.

The House meeting at Lucknow Municipal Corporation headquarter in Lucknow (Mushtaq Ali/HT Photo)

BJP corporator Pramod Singh Rajan alleged that the private agency, responsible for door-to-door garbage collection in five zones, was flouting contract terms. “The agency is neither removing silt from drains nor disposing of horticulture waste as required in the contract. Instead, it dumps waste on private vacant plots,” he alleged. His remarks drew support from opposition corporators.

The private agency’s representative SK Verma defended his organisation, claiming LMC never provided space for waste disposal. Corporators countered this by accusing LMC’s environmental engineer Sanjeev Pradhan of negligence, saying his inaction worsened the waste crisis.

BJP corporator Nagendra Singh Chauhan highlighted that only ₹5 lakh had been sanctioned to fill potholes created after heavy rainfall. “This amount is inadequate. It should be increased to at least ₹40 lakh,” he said. Both ruling and opposition corporators supported the demand, noting that rain-damaged roads had become a major public concern.

Adding fuel to the fire, BJP corporator Prithvi Gupta likened the state of the corporation to “andher nagri, chaupat raja” (damned city, dumb king). His remark triggered protests, with Congress corporators demanding an apology to the mayor. The heated exchange forced mayor Sushma Kharkwal to briefly leave the House before returning after a break.

Gupta later clarified that his statement was not aimed at the mayor personally and acknowledged her leadership, but the episode underlined growing rifts within the ruling BJP’s corporator ranks.

The House also saw allegations of corruption within LMC. BJP corporator Shailendra Verma accused zonal incharge Sanjay Yadav and tax superintendent Anurag Upadhyay of lowering property tax assessments in VIP areas. “A property tax to the tune of ₹12 lakh was reduced to thousands. There are at least 12 similar cases of manipulation,” Verma alleged, demanding strict action against the officials.

Congress corporator Mukesh Singh Chauhan accused LMC of repeated negligence, citing a letter written by MLA Rajeshwar Singh to the chief minister highlighting broken roads and irregular sweeping. “Even MLAs are raising these issues because residents are suffering every day,” Chauhan said.

SP corporator Kamran Beg criticised the “unequal allocation of funds”, demanding ward-wise distribution of funds from the 15th Finance Commission and Infrastructure Fund to ensure fairness.

BJP corporator Prabhunath Shukla claimed that thousands of residents were struggling with damaged water and sewer lines after the construction of the Khurram Nagar–Polytechnic flyover. He alleged negligence by Jal Nigam and Jalkal officials.

Aliganj corporator Prithvi Gupta added that around 30,000 streetlights in his area were either missing from poles or stolen, raising safety concerns. Other corporators alleged that sweeping was not done regularly and waste remained piled up in several wards.

After the stormy session, the mayor told media that 94 of 110 corporators attended the House and raised 70 civic-related questions, all of which had been recorded for follow-up. She confirmed that zonal in-charges had noted the issues and would be asked to explain lapses.

The mayor assured corporators that the remaining ₹1.10 crore under ward development funds would be released soon. “We had earlier released ₹1 crore, and now additional funds will be disbursed to corporators,” she said.

Kharkwal also announced talks with a private agency to conduct a household survey. “The agency will ask residents whether garbage from their homes is being collected properly. Based on their feedback, corrective action will be taken,” she added.

Interestingly, corporators from both ruling and opposition sides found common ground in criticizing LMC’s handling of civic issues. BJP corporator Swadesh Singh alleged that officials deliberately avoided open discussions in the House “because they fear being exposed.”

Corporators demanded detailed records of vehicles deployed for door-to-door collection and accused LMC of failing to enforce penalties effectively. They alleged that when fines were imposed, the agency reduced the number of vehicles, further worsening services.

The House will reconvene on Tuesday, when officials are expected to present responses to the 70 questions raised. For now, the message from corporators was clear: awards and accolades mean little unless basic civic services in Lucknow see visible improvement.