Will contest all 35 MC seats, says SAD

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will field candidates for all 35 wards in the next MC election to be held in December next year.

Addressing the media here today, Charanjit Singh Villy, president of the Chandigarh SAD, said the party would not have any alliance in the next MC election. He said no party, including the BJP and the Congress, had solved the residents’ problems.

The condition of the city infrastructure is deteriorating day by day. The residents have not seen such bad condition of the roads in the past many years.

The charges for conversion of property from leasehold to freehold have been fixed unrealistically. He demanded that the conversion charges must be reduced to affordable rates. The collector rates for property registration are also not based on the ground reality, said Villy, while demanding that Punjabi should be given the status of first language in the city.

He criticised the administration for diluting Punjab’s share in appointments. The 60:40 ratio for appointments of officers and employees of Punjab and Haryana, respectively, must be maintained.

Villy also stressed the need for fixing the mayor’s term for five years. The present system of one-year tenure of mayor leads to corruption, as councillors of different parties switch sides just before the mayoral election. The recent decision to hold the election by show of hands will not solve the real problem, he claimed.

The SAD had won one seat in the last MC election. However, its councillor Hardeep Singh later joined AAP.