E-Paper
Jaipur civic body budget passed amid BJP corporators’ boycott
The BJP corporators boycotted the meeting to pass the budget of Jaipur Municipal Corporation, accusing the mayor of going against the rules by holding a meeting after 15th of the month.
The annual budget of Jaipur Municipal corporation amounting to ₹1,870 crore was passed at a general meeting on Tuesday, after 63 BJP corporators announced a boycott on Monday, raising uncertainty over achieving the required one-third majority.
The BJP corporators boycotted the meeting accusing the mayor of going against the rules by holding a meeting after 15th of the month.
The meeting, which posed a challenge for mayor Vishnu Dutt Sharma following the boycott, was attended by 34 participants including six Congress MLAS, 18 Congress corporators, one corporator from the BJP and nine independents.
Six Congress MLAS present at the meeting included Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Mahesh Joshi, Rafeek Khan, Amin Kagzi, Lal Chand Kataria and Ganga Devi. Transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas present at the meeting accused BJP of having an anti-development mindset. “The BJP corporators should have risen above politics and attended the meeting where the issues related to city’s development were being discussed,” said Khachariyawas. He further said that proper investigation should be done regarding the cow deaths in Hingonia.
Mayor Sharma said he had requested the state government for financial help since several payments were pending from the period of the previous mayors. “The government has accepted the request and almost ₹48 crore have been released, more is promised,” said Sharma.
Sharma said that ₹15-20 lakh have been sanctioned for each ward to install CCTV cameras in order to improve the law and order situation in the city. Speaking about cleanliness, Sharma said equipment worth ₹55 crore was purchased so that JMC would be self-sufficient even in the absence of the agency entrusted with the task of keeping the city clean.
Other announcements by the mayor include issuing corporator certificates necessary for paying bills for sewage, light, garbage collection etc. in the respective wards and cleaning the ditches before March 15. He also announced constituting a five member committee to look into the cow deaths at Hingonia gaushala.
Out of the 63 BJP corporators, Ramniwas Jonwal was the only BJP corporator present at the meeting. “My intention was to take part in a discussion pertaining to the development of the city,” said Jonwal who resigned from his party after the meeting.
