Chandigarh MC defies Admn, again passes free water, parking resolution

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Chandigarh, July 9

The Municipal Corporation (MC) House has reiterated its decision to implement two key resolutions on free water and parking, despite both having been rejected by the UT Administrator in the past.

Today, the MC House again passed a resolution for providing 20,000 litres of water free to each household and free parking in lots under the civic body.

The decision, backed by MP Manish Tewari as well as councillors of various parties, challenges the UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit’s recent rejection of these proposals. Tewari argued against the rejection, citing procedural violations and emphasising the MC’s right to autonomy under the Municipal Corporation Act.

When the agenda was passed in March, he was not the city MP. He read in the newspaper that the UT Administration had rejected the resolutions by evoking powers under Section 423 of the MC Act, which states that the government may annul an illegal proceeding passed by the House. Under the Act, it is mandatory to serve a show-cause notice to the MC, but no such notice was issued, he said.

“The Act mentions the use of the word ‘shall’ and not ‘may’ as far as serving show-cause notice is concerned,” he said.

The controversy erupted after Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi criticised the marginalisation of the MC’s authority, questioning the need for its existence if decisions are unilaterally imposed by the UT Administration. Gabi asked if the MC was only for fixing paver blocks and tiles in streets or cleaning sewer lines. He highlighted the UT’s failure to issue a mandated show-cause notice to the MC before rejecting the resolutions.

Mayor Kuldeep Kumar said a show-cause notice was not received from the UT. The MC would again send the resolution to the UT Administration.

Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra clarified that while the resolution would be forwarded to the UT’s Local Government Department, the final decision rests with them.

Batting for fundamental rights

This isn’t just about free water and parking. It’s about the fundamental rights and independence of the Municipal Corporation. — Manish Tiwari, Member Parliament