11 items on agenda to be tabled today

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 19

A total of 11 agenda items worth Rs 3.25 crore will be discussed at the General House meetings of the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda on Friday.

Surprisingly, giving the go-by to developmental works, the agenda items focus on office work, including extending the term of sanitation workers, who have been working on contract, by six months. The extension may cost the civic body Rs 43.65 lakh.

Despite being opposed by Congress as well as SAD-BJP councillors at the last House meeting, the issue of spending money on development in a colony being planned by a private builder has also been included on the list.

The agenda of development works in a private builder’s project had raised many eyebrows and a demand to constitute a sub-committee to look into the matter was raised as the MC is facing a fund crunch. Councillors had also objected to the alacrity with which the civic body is willing to take up developmental works in a private colony.

The MC may have put several projects on the back burner citing a shortage of funds, but it has included a proposal of Rs 85 lakh at the House meeting.

The money will be spent on constructing of roads and installation of street lights in a colony by a private builder.

Although recruitment of 55 sanitation workers for secondary garbage collection points has been listed in the agenda, the cost to be incurred by the MC on door-to-door garbage collection itself has found no mention.

Coming starting May 1, the MC will collect door-to-door garbage from 52,000 houses and 15,000 commercial establishments on its own. As per the plan chalked out by the MC, it will retain 350 collectors currently working for JITF. Instead of paying them salaries from its funds, their salaries will be generated through user charges. The plan was finalised on April 12 during a special meeting and it was to be tabled during the General House meeting.

Issues to be discussed

• Purchase of 250 kl medicine for fogging in the city for 2018-19 at a cost of Rs 20.62. 
• To stop the due payment of an Aligarh firm, which was hired for sterilisation of dogs.
• Payment of Rs 1.35 crore for maintenance of Water Supply and Sanitation Department's water works located on Bhagu Road.
• Rs 6.89 lakh to the Forest Department for acquiring land for construction of an overhead tank near the Haji Ratan gate.