Ludhiana: F&CC clears 190 of 195 proposals

As many as 195 development and civic agendas came up for discussion before the Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, with 190 proposals being approved and five kept pending for further consideration.

The meeting also saw Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti raising questions over the use of municipal funds and demanding greater transparency in several proposals.

The meeting was significant as AAP councillor Yuvraj Singh Sidhu and Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti joined the F&CC after the elections to the two vacant seats in the committee, bringing representation from both ruling party and the Opposition into the panel.

While most of the agendas were cleared, Bhatti sought detailed information on a number of proposals before they were implemented. He said the presence of the Opposition in the committee would ensure scrutiny of decisions involving public money.

One of the key issues raised by Bhatti was a proposal to deploy 25 sanitation workers in the ward of the son of AAP MLA Kulwant Singh Sidhu. He objected to the proposal and said there should be a uniform policy for all 95 wards. Alternatively, he demanded that the matter be placed before the General House for consideration.

Along with this, proposal of recruitment of safai karamcharis in Mayor Inderjit Kaur’s Ward 13 was put on hold.

Bhatti also sought details regarding the proposed one-year extension for 610 and 340 sanitation workers. He demanded that a ward-wise list of sanitation workers be provided to all 95 councillors, stating that the civic body should clearly disclose which workers were working in which wards.

Works under general quota questioned

The Congress councillor also questioned new estimates prepared under the general quota. He said municipal funds should be distributed through a transparent and uniform system.

The Congress councillor said if any of the proposed works were actually related to the councillor quota, they should be placed under that category and previously pending councillor-quota files should be cleared.

Payment for canine sterilisation, vaccination

Another issue raised by Bhatti was the payment for the sterilisation and vaccination of 30,000 dogs.

He questioned whether the corporation should make full payment if the actual number of dogs sterilised was lower than the target. He suggested that payments should be released only against verified works.

He further proposed that the number of sterilised dogs in each ward be certified by the respective councillor before making the payment, saying it could help prevent unnecessary expenditure.

30 workers for Central constituency

Bhatti also objected to the proposal seeking 30 workers for the Central constituency, saying such a decision should be taken by the General House, instead of the F&CC only.

At the same time, he sought approval of files concerning tube well operators recommended by councillors, saying the appointments were necessary to address water-supply problems in various wards.

Bhatti said the entry of opposition representation into the F&CC would increase scrutiny of civic decisions.

He said his objective was to ensure transparency, equal treatment of all 95 wards and accountability in the spending of municipal funds.