General house meeting likely on March 10, Fencing of canal, recruitment on agenda

The first general house meeting of the AAP-led MC is expected to be held on March 10. One of the important agendas that will be discussed at the meeting is the fencing of the Bist Doab Canal, so that people don't throw waste in it.

In another proposal, covering of the roadside dumps will be discussed, so that the problem of overflowing garbage and waste outside the dump and spilling on the roadside could be resolved.

Noticing that sanitation is a huge problem in the city, 16 new grab machines will be bought by the MC. Apart from this, a proper dedicated agenda has also been made related to the horticulture wing of the MC, in which proper landscaping of the city will be done.

Talking to The Tribune, Mayor Vaneet Dhir said he had noticed that there was a huge shortage of manpower and machinery in the city. "My priority is to resolve this," he said.

Almost every department head in special meetings with the Mayor had raised the issue of a huge dearth of staff. So, the corporation will recruit class II and class III employees through outsourcing so that the proper work could be done.

Budget will also be presented at the first meeting. Recently, the department heads had protested the move to increase the recovery target for the next financial year. The department heads said there was much increase in the target, which was not feasible to achieve. They said an increase of 5 to 10 per cent was acceptable. Mayor Dhir will hold a meeting with the heads and would try to resolve the matter mutually.

He had earlier pointed out that several departments from where good revenue would have come weren’t working up to the mark and revenue generation was not satisfactory. He would, therefore, ensure that the revenue increases, for which the Mayor has started working.

More facilities Mayor's priority

When Mayor Vaneet Dhir had assumed the charge, he expressed disappointment with the city’s development, saying that Jalandhar was lagging behind. “What is more painful is that residents are not getting even basic facilities,” he had stated.

He had also admitted that he would face several challenges, but ensure that by the end of his term as Mayor, the city becomes better and more developed.