Kapurthala civic body elevation ‘fails’ to serve its purpose

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, December 6

It has been nearly 10 months since the Municipal Council of Kapurthala was upgraded to a municipal corporation, but residents said their day-to-day work were not being done.They said the status of the municipal corporation was only on paper.

They added that it is proving to be an extra burden as the civic body is not capable of generating funds on its own for any development work, which is now required under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act.

Ever since the status of Kapurthala civic body got elevated, all applications related to change of land use have been pending and builders are raising a hue and cry as their work is getting delayed.

The residents said they had high hopes of getting better facilities with more staff and more budget, but no development work had been carried out so far. They alleged that the existing facilities were getting further deteriorated be it roads or streetlights.

SAD leader Paramjit Singh Pamma, who is ex-president of the Municipal Council of Kapurthala, said, “A grant of Rs10 crore, which was sanctioned by the previous government for development works, has been taken back. There has been no progress on any sewage or road project, which was sanctioned earlier. LED lights installed in the city are very dim and can’t solve the problem of dark spots. Despite our attempts to file a complaint on the matter, nothing has been done. We were better off with the municipal council status as we were getting all required grants in the past.”

Even though ADC Rahul Chaba has been given the additional charge of MC Commissioner recently, other posts, including those of superintending engineer, are yet to be filled.

BJP state secretary Umesh Sharda said, “The status upgradation will be a disadvantage for Kapurthala, which was not ready for this change. Residents will now have to pay additional taxes, besides water and sewage charges under the MC Act. The civic body authorities have not made any plan to arrange funds for paying salaries to additional staff.”

He added that even in nine months, there has been no plan for extending the MC limits and covering peripheral villages in its jurisdiction.

“This process needs to be followed before conducting the elections, which are likely in February or March along with the Phagwara and Hoshiarpur MC polls. No discussion has been held for the ward delimitation work,” said Sharda.

MC Commissioner Chaba said, “At a time when the Municipal Council was existed, all files including, those of regularisation of plots or buildings, were being cleared by the Deputy Director. There was some gap in the appointment of the MC Commissioner. Therefore, some work was pending. Now as I have taken the charge, my first priority will be to clear these files and initiate speedy compliance as per the building bylaws. I have already written to the Director, Local Bodies Department, for the appointment of a new municipal town planner (MTP) or for giving an additional charge to an officer in Jalandhar or Phagwara.”

CLU applications pending

• Kaputhala residents said the status of corporation was proving to be an extra burden as the civic body is not capable of generating funds on its own for any development work, which is now required under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act. 
• The residents said they had high hopes of getting better facilities with more staff and more budget, but no development work had been carried out so far. They alleged that the existing facilities was getting further deteriorated be it roads or streetlights. 
• Ever since the status of the Kapurthala civic body got elevated, all applications related to change of land use have been pending and builders are raising a hue and cry as their work is getting delayed.