Opposition councillors are crying foul as no General House meeting of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) has been held for more than a month.
The last meeting of the MC was held on April 8. Since then, no meeting has taken place.
A General House meeting was scheduled for the last week of May but was postponed after several councillors threatened to boycott it over the termination of the contract of Lion Services Limited, the company providing sanitation services in the southern sectors of the city.
Councillors alleged that the Municipal Commissioner terminated the contract despite opposition from elected representatives and ignored their decision.
Following the controversy, the Mayor postponed the meetings of both the Finance and Contract Committee and the General House.
Former Senior Deputy Mayor and Ward No. 24 councillor Jasbir Singh Bunty expressed serious concern over the Chandigarh MC’s failure to convene House meetings since April. He said this was affecting several important development projects in the city and that many public-interest issues remained pending.
Bunty said MC House meetings are the cornerstone of democratic governance, where proposals related to the city’s development, infrastructure, and public welfare are discussed and decisions are taken. However, due to the absence of House meetings for the past several months, many projects and development works are awaiting approval, directly affecting city residents.
Bunty said in the past, a lack of financial resources was often cited as the reason for delays in development projects, whereas the MC currently has sufficient funds available. Despite this, the delay in development projects due to the failure to convene a House meeting reflects administrative failure.
He urged Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria to issue directions for convening a MC House meeting at the earliest so that pending proposals can be approved and stalled development projects expedited.
Bunty said the MC’s primary objective is to provide better facilities to citizens and ensure the city’s development. It is unfortunate that development projects are currently being hampered due to political and administrative reasons. He demanded immediate intervention and necessary action from the administration.
Yogesh Dhingra, an AAP councillor, said the ruling party was avoiding questions from opposition councillors regarding stalled development works. He alleged that road repair work had come to a halt due to a shortage of bitumen.
Advocate Ajay Jagga said: “Section 52 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, as extended to the Union Territory of Chandigarh by Act No. 45 of 1994, expressly mandates that the Municipal Corporation shall hold at least one meeting every month for the transaction of its business. The use of the word ‘shall’ makes the provision mandatory. Failure to convene a monthly meeting defeats the statutory scheme of democratic municipal governance and prevents the elected body from scrutinising municipal administration. The sufferers are the residents of Chandigarh, as development has been badly affected."
When contacted, Chandigarh Mayor Saurabh Joshi said he had to postpone the last House meeting because some councillors decided to boycott it in protest against the Commissioner’s decision.
He added that two joint commissioners and the chief engineer are currently on leave. The meeting will be held soon after they return. Meanwhile, work on development-related agendas is continuing.
