Political tussle flares up over V-3 roads, Manimajra project

Political tussle over the transfer of V-3 roads to the UT Administration and the proposed auction of land in Manimajra for a housing project has flared up in the Municipal Corporation.

A joint delegation of Opposition parties – the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — today met MC Commissioner Amit Kumar and demanded the general house meeting held on August 26 be declared null and void, alleging illegality and irregularities in its proceedings.

On the other hand, Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla lambasted the Opposition, saying that it was never interested in the development of the city. Babla stated that owing to the poor financial condition of the MC, the V-3 roads had been handed over to the administration.

The auction of the Manimajra land will be done online globally in the most transparent manner. The revenue collected from the auction will be used for the development of the city. She said the double standard of the Opposition had been exposed, as they were working to stall the auction, which was necessary for the UT’s development.

The Opposition delegation was led by HS Lucky, city Congress president; and Vijay Pal Singh, city AAP chief. They alleged that the entire proceedings of the previous House meeting violated the democratic norms and procedures. The crucial agendas were passed illegally when Opposition councillors were forcibly evicted from the House, they claimed.

The Opposition demanded that the V-3 roads be transferred temporarily for recarpeting purposes, and once the work was completed, these must be returned to the MC. However, the BJP-led MC ignored this legitimate demand. Lucky said the agenda was pushed through without any meaningful discussion or transparency.

The AAP president said the Manimajra land matter raised several serious questions.

Both parties demanded that the House meeting be reconvened immediately so that these agenda items can be thoroughly debated in a true democratic spirit.

Meanwhile, the Mayor denied the allegations and said the meeting was held as per the Municipal Act. Congress councillors were not evicted from the House. They could have come back but they chose to boycott the meeting. They are playing politics over the development of the city, she said.

BJP councillor seeks special House meeting

Meanwhile, BJP councillor Kanwarjeet Singh Rana demanded a special General House meeting over the issue of Manimajra land auction. He said the project was mired into a controversy and many questions had been raised, which required clarity. It is better to discuss them in a special House meeting. He also demanded that the issue of Rs 125-crore grant should also be discussed in the meeting, as there was no clarity on the fund to be allocated to councillors. He claimed that the officers told the councillors that they would receive not more than Rs 25 lakh for development.