Study tour: MC violated rules

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 16

The municipal corporation violated rules and regulations to organise the 10-day study tour to Chennai, Port Blair and Kolkata in September.

The UT Administration had framed guidelines for organising the study tours. Besides the MC had also resolved rules and regulations in 2006 for organising the study tours but the civic body threw rules to the wind to organise family sojourn of councillors and officials.

The UT guidelines framed in 2007 for the study tour reads, “Once the panel (who will go on the study tour) is selected, it may be placed before the House of the MC for approval. The process could be made transparent and justifications for the selection should be shared with the House. Unnecessary secrecy tends to foster intrigue and subsequent allegations of nepotism or misconduct”.

But in the present study tour, names of councillors, officials and their family members, who had gone for the study tour, were not presented before the MC House for final approval. Besides, it was clearly mentioned that that there should be no secrecy, but the MC officials were not disclosing the names of family members who went along with the councillors.

The MC in its reply in October House meeting only disclosed the names of councillors and officials but did not reveal the names of family members.

Similarly, the MC in its 107th meeting dated September 27, 2006, had resolved, “Preference will be given by the study team to those cities, which have municipalcorporation/municipal councils”.

But the MC councillors and officials visited Havelock Island in Andaman Islands, which does not have any MC.

The MC had submitted its reply on the question raised by BJP councillor Satinder Singh.Satinder Singh said according to rules the MC should have placed the report and expenditure on the study tour before the MC House within the stipulated time. But it not submit complete details. They are still maintaining secrecy from the public, he alleged. Meanwhile, on the issue of the MC and UT officials, who were part of the study tour, MC Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh said as a Commissioner he was competent to give approval to MC officials and he had given them the approval. Whereas the permission of the UT Joint Secretary, Local Bodies Department, was given by the UT Adviser and all officials of the MC and UT had gone for the study tour with valid approval from the competent authority. The MC is preparing a report on the study tour which will be tabled in the next MC House meeting, he said.