Jalandhar West bypoll over, AAP minister Balkar Singh again to fore

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, July 16

Having been kept completely sidelined in the recently-concluded Jalandhar West (reserved) bypoll owing to his controversial video, Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh has once again started getting prominence in political circles.

Despite holding the most important portfolio and representing the SC section, Balkar Singh was not roped in for the election campaign by the AAP. Just three days since the announcement of the result, Balkar on Tuesday went to the Municipal Corporation (MC) office where he reviewed the progress of ongoing development works in the city and directed the officials to ensure that projects be completed swiftly.

With MC poll on mind, the party perhaps now realises the need to engage the local bodies minister. At the meeting, the newly-elected MLA Mohinder Bhagat also joined in as the new Dalit representative of the party. The AAP government had been the target of the BJP and the Congress in the bypoll for delaying the MC poll by 1.5 years and doing nothing for the development of the city.

The issues of contaminated drinking water and overflowing sewage had been raked up repeatedly and the MC machinery from entire Punjab had to be pressed into service to win over the voters in the bypoll area of the city.

In the presence of MLA Raman Arora, MC Commissioner Gautam Jain and other senior officials, Balkar Singh reviewed the construction of roads, including Garha Road and Jamsher Road, and the ongoing development work at Dr BR Ambedkar Park Bootan Mandi. The minister stressed on the importance of maintaining the quality of development works. He instructed officials to inspect the sites regularly.

The minister also assessed the MC’s arrangements for handling monsoon season challenges, including water drainage, sewer cleaning, and mosquito control measures. He urged special attention to sewer cleaning and preemptive arrangements, including necessary machinery, to resolve sewer blockage issues.

He emphasised on the effective drainage of rainwater during the monsoon to prevent inconvenience to the public. Additionally, he reviewed the performance of the eight sewage treatment plants operating in the city. The minister also stressed on the need for property tax collection. He instructed MC officials to ensure 100 per cent property tax collection and warned that any negligence in this regard would not be tolerated. He asked officials to submit a report on this matter by August 1.

During the meeting, the Cabinet Minister listened to the issues related to the respective constituencies raised by the MLAs and instructed the officials to prioritise and address them.