Amritsar Municipal Corporation passes Rs 481 crore budget amid uproar

The Municipal Corporation (MC), Amritsar, on Monday passed its estimated budget of Rs 481.19 crore for the financial year 2026-27 amid uproar, sloganeering and protests by opposition councillors, with the proceedings ending abruptly within minutes.

The General House meeting, held at the MC headquarter in Ranjit Avenue, witnessed high drama as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) pushed through the budget despite stiff resistance from the Congress, the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) councillors, who alleged lack of transparency and violation of the democratic norms.

The meeting began on a sombre note, with members paying tributes to Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, District Manager, Punjab Warehousing Corporation, who died by suicide recently. Following this, Assistant Commissioner Daljit Singh presented the proposed budget for approval.

He stated that the budget was prepared after seeking detailed inputs from all departments. He said revised estimates for 2025-26 and projections for 2026-27 were finalised accordingly. As per the budgetary allocation, nearly 66 per cent of the expenditure has been earmarked for establishment costs, 30 per cent for development works and four per cent for meeting contingencies.

However, even before proposals could be discussed, Congress councillors led by Leader of Opposition Vikas Soni objected to the proceedings, demanding detailed accounts of last year’s budget and expenditure. They alleged that funds had not been utilised appropriately and sought a comprehensive discussion before approval.

Ignoring objections, Mayor Jatinder Singh Bhatia put the budget to vote through a show of hands. Amid loud protests by opposition councillors, AAP members supported the proposal, leading to its passage in the House meeting.

The situation escalated further during discussion on the supplementary agenda. As the Assistant Commissioner began reading out proposals, opposition councillors again raised objections, alleging that their concerns were being ignored. Soon, Congress councillors staged a dharna inside the House and raised slogans against the ruling dispensation.

Amid chaos, the Mayor adjourned the meeting within around 10 minutes and left the hall. The protesting councillors, however, continued their dharna for nearly half an hour, highlighting various civic issues.

Speaking to mediapersons later, Vikas Soni levelled serious allegations against Mayor, claiming misuse of “anticipatory approval of the House” provisions. He alleged that development works worth over Rs 200 crore had been executed without prior approval of the General House.

He said such provisions were meant strictly for emergency situations when convening a House meeting was not possible. “This is a gross violation of the norms. We will approach the High Court and are confident of getting justice,” he said.

Soni further alleged that the Mayor had failed to convene regular House meetings over the past one year and was avoiding discussions on key civic issues. He also questioned the ruling party’s majority, claiming that around 52 councillors from the Congress, the BJP and the SAD were present at the meeting, while only a handful of the AAP councillors attended it.

Some councillors and leaders, including Congress leader Damandeep Singh and BJP councillor Aman Aeri, criticised the manner in which the meeting was conducted and termed the budget approval undemocratic.

Responding to allegations, Mayor Bhatia maintained that the budget and all listed proposals had been duly approved by the House. He said around 82 agenda items, along with tabled proposals, were cleared during the meeting.

On civic issues, the Mayor admitted that the performance of the private company handling the city’s sanitation work was not satisfactory. He said the firm had been issued notices and its accountability was being fixed. He added that the Municipal Corporation had already floated a fresh tender to improve the city’s sanitation system.