Zila Parishad councillors lock CEO office in Karnal

A majority of the councillors of the Karnal Zila Parishad (ZP) on Friday protested at the office of the CEO, ZP, alleging that the officer frequently remained absent from office, causing delays in official work and development projects. They locked the office and raised slogans against the CEO, expressing their frustration.

The BJP, Congress, JJP and BSP backed the councillors. Parvesh Rana, chairperson of ZP, Reena Kumari, vice-chairperson of ZP along with other councillors Gurdeep Bijna, Sachin Budhanpur, Amit Barana, Kuldeep, Surinder and others assembled outside the office and said that even after a scheduled meeting on Friday, the CEO and some officials did not come. Rana said whenever they visited the office to discuss development works, the CEO was not present in the office. How could the work be done under such conditions.

Budhanpur said many development works in rural areas had come to a standstill due to lack of supervision and coordination. “The ADC has been given the charge of the CEO ZP, but he rarely comes to the ZP office, may be due to his busy schedule at the ADC office. We want a separate CEO who is always available in the office to listen to the issues of the councillors, contractors and others involved in the development works,” he demanded.

“Villagers are questioning us about the delay in development works, but the administration is not responding,” one councillor said.The councillors further alleged that no official meetings were held for the past three months to review or plan the ongoing works. “Neither are meetings taking place, nor is the officer available in the office to discuss pending issues. We are left with no option but to protest,” another councillor alleged.

The councillors warned that if their demands were not met soon and the officer continueed to remain absent, they would intensify their agitation. Despite several attempts, CEO Sonu Bhatt could not be contacted to know his point of view.