General House meeting to go digital, expansion of city limits to top agenda

The General House meeting of Ludhiana is expected to be convened after the zila parishad and block samiti elections. The agenda is likely to focus on two key issues — the proposed expansion of city limits and the digitalisation of the Municipal Corporation (MC) work. In line with this, councillors are expected to be provided with tablets during the forthcoming meeting. It will be MC’s fourth General House meeting.

The plan is to include over 100 surrounding villages, aiming for around 400 sq km of a future-proof urban landscape. The plan was pending for decades and is now back on the table. The expansion will have to be finalised before the upcoming Census and the process will be completed by December 31.

Villages proposed for inclusion in the Gill and Dakha constituencies include Birmi, Malakpur, Dakha, Issewal, Bhattian, Ayali Kalan, Ayali Khurd, Pamal, Pamali, Alamgir, Lohara, Bulara, Natt, Bhamian, Khasi Kalan and Tajpur. It will result in increase in municipal wards significantly. Most of the villages are those where large-scale residential projects are coming up.

The MC has already written to the district administration and sought detailed land records of the villages, including land use, government properties, village boundaries, GIS maps and ownership details, to finalise the expansion plan.

Another new initiative in the General House meeting will be that councillors would be getting the meeting agenda on their WhatsApp which will be password protected and the name of the councillor will be water marked. Preparations for the meeting is on and in line with this development. The MC is in the process of purchasing tablets for the 95 councillors. The agenda will be sent to all councillors and nearly 100 officials. After the digital uphaul, the initiative will help save paper.

“It is a welcome step towards modernising our functioning. Receiving the agenda securely on WhatsApp and having tabs for councillors will not only make our work more efficient but also save a significant amount of paper. It shows that the corporation is serious about embracing digitalisation,” a councilllor said.