Chandigarh civic body House meeting cancelled at eleventh hour

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21

Stringent rules with regard to public toilets in parks and markets, largely run by Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) backed by councillors and Market Welfare Associations (MWAs), reportedly led to a disagreement between AAP–Congress councillors and Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor, and the Municipal Corporation House meeting was cancelled at the eleventh hour.

The petty politics has put 26 important development agendas, which were to be decided during the House meeting today, on the back burner.

The councillors and the Mayor had a problem with two items in the agenda — penalty clause for unclean toilets or violation of norms and requirement of keeping an account of staff employed at each toilet.

The MC said it was necessary to make amendments to the clause as there were complaints that while two workers were employed at a toilet, four were mentioned in the records.

There is an additional clause about giving salary to workers on DC rates instead of labour ones, which are too less.

Sources said the item regarding the public/community toilets was there in the supplementary agenda, which was officially released yesterday. But, before becoming the part of the agenda, it was presented to a group of councillors and was also tabled in the Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) meeting yesterday.

The sources shared during the pre-House meeting of the two alliance partners of the INDIA bloc, some councillors raised the issue with the Mayor. They asked him why that agenda was being proposed without taking the views of the RWAs and the MWAs. They had arguments with the Mayor over this issue. Subsequently, the meeting was cancelled late last night.

The MC released a “press information” at 6:30 am, which said the meeting had been “postponed.” However, it did not specify any reason for the cancellation of the meeting, which was to be held at 11 am today.

Leader of the Opposition and BJP councillor Kanwarjit Singh Rana said, “Owing to a rift between the Congress and AAP councillors with the Mayor, the House meeting was cancelled. It has been learnt that the councillors and the Mayor had a verbal fight over public utility agenda during their pre-House meeting, leading to the cancellation of the meeting. Owing to their own politics, the city development again suffered today.”

However, AAP-Congress councillors refuted Rana’s claim. Congress councillor Taruna Mehta said, “This is not the reason. The meeting was postponed as the Mayor had some health problem. He had some cervical pain issues.”

“If there was no issue with that agenda item, the meeting could have been chaired by the Senior Deputy Mayor or the Deputy Mayor,” said Rana.

Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor said, “I had severe chest pain last night. Thus, the meeting had to be cancelled. Had this particular item been the reason, why would I get it listed in the agenda?”