Congress councillors ‘beg’ funds for Chandigarh MC

Holding begging bowls in their hands, Congress councillors led by Chandigarh Congress president Harmohinder Singh Lucky today staged a demonstration highlighting the dire financial condition of the Municipal Corporation (MC) outside the office of the civic body. They implored the Central Government and the Chandigarh Administration to provide funds to the MC.

“Despite the presence of a ‘triple-engine government’ — with the BJP ruling at the Centre, in the Administration, and the Mayor’s office — the MC is in a state of financial ruin,” remarked Lucky.

BJP blames Congress for MC mess

City BJP secretary Sanjiv Rana said the Congress was responsible for the pathetic condition of the MC. Chandigarh has a Congress MP and the Mayor was from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who was elected with the Congress support last year. If the Congress had not supported the AAP, people of Chandigarh would not have faced this crisis, he added. Rana said the Congress was now levelling false allegations against the BJP to hide its failures. He said the BJP was fully committed to improving the financial condition of the MC.

He accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of withholding Rs 1,704 crore it owed to the corporation under the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission’s revenue-sharing formula and an additional Rs 743 crore as per recommendation of the commission. Furthermore, the Chandigarh Administration has neither allocated the dedicated funds that were provided annually nor cleared the dues pertaining to various departments, he added.

“As a result, MC employees are not receiving their salaries, potholes remain unrepaired, and even basic construction materials like cement are unavailable. Contractors have abandoned development projects midway over non-payment. The repercussions of the BJP’s flawed policies, intentions, and governance are being borne by the MC and its councillors,” said the Congress leader.

Lucky further attacked the BJP’s claims of a $5 trillion economy, pointing out that a city governed by their own party was struggling for funds. “The BJP had promised that once they secured the Mayor’s seat, there would be no shortage of funds. However, we are forced to beg for financial assistance,” he lamented.

Appealing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria to provide funds to the civic body, Lucky said if the MC did not get financial assistance soon, it would have to shut down.

The collected donations were symbolically handed over to the Mayor at the end of the protest.

Senior Deputy Mayor Jasbir Singh Bunty, Deputy Mayor Taruna Mehta, councillors Gurpreet Singh Gabi, Darshana Rani, Nirmala Devi and Sachin Galav, Congress general secretary Yadvinder Mehta, former Mayor Gurcharan Das Kala, Congress spokesperson Dilawar Singh, and several other prominent party leaders were present on the occasion.