Karnal: Zila Parishad councillors create ruckus over grant distribution

Karnal, July 19

A ruckus erupted in the general house meeting of Zila Parishad (ZP) at Panchayat Bhawan over the distribution of grants on Friday. Some councillors accused the chairperson, Parvesh Kumari Rana, of favouritism in the allocation of the development funds. They said the chairperson, who holds the authority to approve grants, had allocated funds to 3-4 councillors. They said that left the others without any grants.

Rejecting the current mechanism for approval, the councillors demanded the establishment of a committee to oversee the process.

Chairperson Rana chaired the meeting, and CEO Vivek Choudhary presided over it. Out of the 26 councillors, 22 attended the meeting, along with four ex-officio members, including MLA Nilokheri and three chairpersons of Block Samitis.

A total of 17 councillors supported the proposal, and nine opposed it. As a result, a committee comprising the chairperson, vice-chairperson, and a councillor from Ward 10 was formed to approve grants for work proposed by councillors, said CEO Choudhary.

Choudhary stated that 11 agendas were discussed in the meeting, and ten were approved unanimously. However, the administrative power to approve budgets for development work was given to the newly formed three-member committee.

The councillors alleged the chairperson was biased in the distribution of grants. Ward 5 Councillor Amit Barana said they would meet the Chief Minister to inquire about the grants that have been distributed so far.

Councillor Sachin Budhanpur said the grants were not distributed equally among councillors, and the formation of the new committee was welcomed.

Vice-Chairperson Reena Kharkali said the Councillors had given the power of administrative approval to the chairperson unanimously; however, the house had decided to take the power back.

ZP Chairperson’s husband, Sohan Singh Rana, said they would not accept the new committee and claimed the grants were distributed equally. He added that the formation of the committee was invalid.