Jalandhar Municipal Corporation House meeting turns chaotic amid political slugfest
The meeting began with Zero Hour at around 11.22 am, during which councillors raised a range of ward-related issues
A General House meeting of the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation (MC), which began on a relatively calm note on Tuesday, descended into chaos after councillors from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress exchanged heated words and raised slogans.
The meeting began with Zero Hour at around 11.22 am, during which councillors raised a range of ward-related issues. The situation turned tense when Ward No. 1 councillor Ashu Sharma began raising her concerns but was interrupted by AAP councillors.
“Who are you? Are you the Mayor?” Ashu questioned, triggering a verbal spat between Congress and AAP councillors. The exchange soon escalated, with members from both sides raising questions against each other and shouting slogans. Congress councillors also displayed photographs highlighting the alleged poor condition of Transport Nagar and the adjoining areas.
Mayor Vaneet Dhir along with Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor trying to control the ruckus during the Municipal Corporation House meeting in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: Sarabjit Singh
Listed agenda passed within minute
As the scenes in the House grew increasingly chaotic and showed no signs of calming down, the listed agenda was passed within barely a minute amid loud protests and high-decibel sloganeering. Slogans such as “Dhakke-shahi nahi chalegi” (high-handedness will not be tolerated) and “AAP sarkar murdabad” (down with the AAP government) were raised in the House.
Heated exchanges over installation of unipoles
The meeting again witnessed heated exchanges when councillor Pawan Kumar raised the issue of alleged irregularities in the installation of unipoles in Jalandhar. He alleged that several unipoles had not been installed in accordance with the Municipal Corporation’s advertisement bylaws.
“Tuaadi nakk thalle scam ho reha hai” (A scam is happening right under your nose). “You should do something. House nu dasseya jaaye ki eh ki hai” (The House must know what is happening),” Kumar said, demanding that the matter be brought before the House and investigated.
The issue led to another round of interruptions, with AAP councillors asking Kumar not to take excessive time. Kumar, however, alleged that he was being interrupted because the ruling councillors did not want him to raise the issue.
Garbage mgmt, sanitation remain major concerns
Garbage management and sanitation remained among the major concerns raised by councillors throughout the meeting. The Ward No. 52 councillor said his ward did not have a proper designated garbage dump and complained about the unchecked growth of residential colonies.
“Three to four colonies bann rahi hai mere ward vich. Hun nakel kasso” (Around three to four colonies are coming up in my ward. Do something about this),” he said while addressing Mayor Vaneet Dhir.
He also complained that garbage was not being lifted regularly and that waste dumps had emerged even near his residence along the main road. Raising concerns over the lack of sewerage facilities, he said, “There are no sewermen,” and requested that his name be removed from the committee concerned, alleging that its members were not doing any work.
Several other councillors also complained about garbage accumulation and foul smells in their respective wards. Councillor Mintu Juneja highlighted the situation in Urban Estate Phase 2, where he said a large garbage dump had come up close to a residential area.
“People cannot eat food because of the unbearable stench,” he said.
Issue of parking space shortage crops up
Councillor Mukesh Sethi raised the issue of parking problems, saying that the shortage of parking space had become a widespread concern. Another councillor, Kanwar Sartaj Singh, raised concerns over roads not being constructed properly and questioned the availability of the super suction machine.
He said the machine had unnecessarily become a “prestige issue” and questioned why councillors had to repeatedly prove that they had got sewerage or cleaning work carried out by clicking photographs with the machine.
“Saade vargeya nu saboot dena painda hai ki asi gaar kadwayi hai, photo karvake” (We have to prove that we have got the mud removed from sewerage by clicking a photograph),” he said.
Repeated transfer of MC Commissioners highlighted
Congress councillor Jasleen Sethi took a sarcastic dig at the repeated transfers of Municipal Commissioners and called for a stable officer to ensure continuity in the corporation’s functioning.
“Bullet ta rakheya patake paan nu, te Commissioner rakhe Singh karvaan nu” (The bullet (motorcycle) is kept for bursting firecrackers, while the Commissioner is kept to handle Singhs (police cases or crackdowns)),” she remarked.
Councillors also highlighted a shortage of sanitation workers and alleged that they were being forced to deploy workers privately to meet sanitation requirements in their respective wards.
Works approved during previous meeting not started
The Ward No. 1 councillor further alleged that several development works approved during the previous House meeting had not even been started. Interestingly, the contentious Rs 607-crore Integrated Solid Waste Treatment Project did not figure in the House proceedings. Sanitation workers had remained on strike for five days over issues linked to the project. The strike was called off on Monday. According to information available, the project has been deferred.
At the beginning of the meeting, councillor Pawan Kumar had also asked Mayor Vaneet Dhir to respond to the questions raised by councillors after they had finished speaking. Dhir said he would give the answers later. However, the meeting ended without the Mayor responding to the questions raised by the councillors.
