Ex-councillors await salary

Charanjit Singh Teja

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 24

The MC elections are over and the new House has been constituted, but the former councillors are still waiting for their salaries pending for three months.

The House had been dissolved on September 16 this year. During the last meeting, Comrade Raj Kumar, CPI councillor, had demanded from the Municipal Corporation the release of councillors’ salaries.

According to information, the councillors get a salary of Rs 17,000 per month. The salary of the mayor is Rs 48,000 approximately, while the senior deputy mayor gets Rs 42,000 and the deputy mayor is entitled to get Rs 38,000 per month.

Earlier, the MC had only 65 councillors and the civic body was unable to pay them salaries on time. Now the number of councillors has been increased to 85, increasing the financial burden on the MC.

Ex-councillor Surinder Singh Sultanwind said, “We did not get salary for four months. The MC often delays the salaries. Everyone knows the financial condition of the civic body so we never asked them to release salaries on time. With the increase of 20 wards now, the MC will have to shell out Rs 3.4 lakh more.”

Gurpreet Singh, another ex-councillor, said, “Earlier, the salary of six months was pending. The MC had released four-month salary two months ago. Even now, two salaries are pending.”

Raj Kumar, former councillor, said they had been demanding some other facilities for the councillors, but the MC was unable to pay even salaries. “The salaries should be released on time,” he added.