After Mayor, now wait for ad hoc committees

Two years ago when the five-year term of the previous MC House got completed, the ad hoc committees that were constituted by then Mayor Jagdish Raja also got dissolved. Now, as the city has got its new Mayor, there is a wait for the ad hoc committees.

According to the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the corporation has to constitute committees of water supply and sewerage disposal, building and roads, house tax assessment and other such committees.

The Act also reads that each committee will elect one of its members as the chairman and another member as the vice-chairman.

Balraj Thakur, a senior Congress leader, who has been a councillor for six times, said although there was an Act, it depended entirely on the Mayor whether he wanted to constitute the committees now or after wards.

The committees play a major role in various works of the corporation. Councillors are the members of the committees and they can raise problems of residents with the respective branch. Besides, even works of various branches get distributed and decentralised.

Balraj Thakur, who was the chairman of Health and Sanitation Ad hoc Committee during the last MC House, added, "As the part of ad hoc committee, we can conduct checking and then tell our findings to the Mayor who can then take action accordingly. Even the former mayor had formed the committees quite late, will see when the Mayor forms the same."

The committees help various works related to the MC to get streamlined. Councillors become the committee members and then they also help in exposing several loopholes in the system.

For example, the Water Supply and Sewerage Committee ensures the adequate supply of water to citizens and the disposal of sullage and storm water. For that purpose, the committee examines all proposals related to the installation/maintenance of tubewells and disposal work and recommend priorities.

Former councillor and  then Chairman of the Building and Roads Ad hoc committee Nirmal Singh Nimma had also highlighted that the colonisers owe crores of rupees to the Municipal Corporation. This was revealed in a report on regularisation of colonies submitted by the MC’s Town Planning Department to the Building and Roads Ad-hoc Committee.