To fill potholes, LMC to spend ₹22 crore from corporators’ quota

Earlier, files of road construction were passed on the recommendations of corporators, but now engineers and zonal officers will have to tell whether the road requires a patchwork or construction, says municipal commissioner

LUCKNOW The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has decided to spend ₹22 crore from the corporators’ quota to fill potholes and carry out patchwork on roads where reconstruction is not required. In the annual budget, the civic body has sanctioned ₹70 crore for the construction of roads but this fund would not be utilised for minor repairs.

Corporators are angry over the decision to deduct the amount from their quota. (HT File Photo)

The LMC’s decision to deduct ₹20 lakh from the quota of each corporator for the patchwork has not gone down well with the corporators. A number of them, those of the ruling party, have expressed their anger over the decision.

“Corporators are angry over the decision to deduct the amount from their quota. They say they already suffered a cut in their quota when their fund was diverted for renovation of government schools. I think the mayor should also surrender her quota and then ask us to surrender a part of our quota,” said a senior corporator of the BJP.

Another BJP corporator said, “Corporators don’t get salaries like MLAs or MPs, they only depend on the quota for meeting the demands of voters in their constituency. But our quota is being breached, that too when the state is ruled by the BJP. This has never happened in the past.”

“Why doesn’t mayor Sanyukta Bhatia surrender her quota of ₹17 crore for the patchwork of city roads. She didn’t give anything for the renovation of government schools when our funds were diverted for the cause,” said Amit Chaudhary, corporator.

Municipal commissioner Ajay Dwivedi confirmed that road construction job will not be given nod where only patchwork is required. “In the past, files of road construction were passed on the recommendations of corporators, but now engineers and zonal officers will have to tell whether the road requires a patchwork or construction,” he said.