New Local Bodies Minister faces daunting task of cleaning civic mess

With the Ministry of Local Government going to Sham Chaurasi MLA Dr Ravjot Singh on Monday, the Hoshiarpur-based doctor is beset with the uphill task of setting right a trail of wrongs in the implementation of the Smart City project in the region.

The AAP is faced with a slew of charges in the implementation of the Smart City project in Doaba cities — especially Jalandhar and Kapurthala — and Dr Ravjot Singh has inherited the troubled legacy of addressing these allegations that pertain to corruption, delay and inaction.

It may be mentioned that Jalandhar has been the most controversial city in terms of the Smart City project in Doaba region.

When Kartarpur MLA Balkar Singh had been tasked with addressing these issues in June last year (when he got the ministry), he went on an assurance-making and foundation-laying spree in the early months of his tenure. However, with mounting charges of inaction and corruption, the poor condition of civic amenities remained the key issue during the twin elections which Jalandhar saw this year — the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jalandhar Assembly bypoll.

During both of these, the BJP repeated charges of over Rs 600 crore alleged scam in MC Jalandhar. In turn, the AAP hurled the charges back at the previous Congress government — with the residents caught in the whirl even as roads, sewerage and garbage problems went from bad to worse.

A public fallout of it was also witnessed in Kapurthala when after several deaths following a diarrhoea outbreak earlier this year, Kapurthala’s Congress MLA Rana Gurjit Singh openly criticised the MC Commissioner and questioned the Local Bodies Minister on the MC’s inaction and sought an inquiry.

“Local Bodies is a tricky department with years of corruption and inaction. Fifteen months ago, Balkar was given a chance as it was thought that the former cop would be able to deal with an iron hand and get the work done and bring about at least some improvement in the department’s functioning. But the minister’s tenure proved inconsequential and the problems became insurmountable this summer and during the monsoon. Corrupt officials didn’t face the action they should have. Additionally, both with Balkar and Jimpa, many complaints were going unaddressed even at the party workers’ level,” a senior AAP leader said.

Even during the Jalandhar Assembly bypoll which Mohinder Bhagat won with a decisive margin, the CM’s visits and roadshows were held through many areas with clogged streets and blocked sewers with the notorious 120-feet road getting special vehicles and machines from other districts to pump out excess water.

Greenhorns rewarded

In the fourth cabinet reshuffle of the AAP on Monday, two Doaba ministers were divested of their portfolios while two greenhorns were rewarded with ministries. It is for the first time that both Jalandhar West MLA Mohinder Bhagat and Sham Chaurasi MLA Dr Ravjot Singh have bagged ministerial portfolios in the state government. Bhagat has got the ministries of Defence Services Welfare, Freedom Fighters and Horticulture (all three held earlier by Chetan Singh Jouramajra) while Dr Ravjot Singh has got the important portfolios of Local Government and Parliamentary Affairs (both ministries earlier held by Balkar Singh).