Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor rift surfaces again at Ludhiana MC’s F&CC meeting
As many as 227 agendas were taken up during the meeting, including 40 table agendas
The differences between Ludhiana Mayor Inderjit Kaur and Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Prashar came out in the open once again during the Municipal Corporation’s Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) meeting here on Monday, with Prashar walking out of the meeting midway following a heated exchange with the Mayor over pending development works in his ward.
Prashar raised the issue of four development works in his ward, stating that although the works had already been approved in the previous F&CC meeting, work orders had still not been issued. The issue led to an argument between the two office-bearers, following which the Senior Deputy Mayor left the meeting after agenda number 30 was taken up.
The meeting continued in his absence, with the remaining members discussing the resolutions in detail. Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti later raised objections to several proposals, questioning their financial implications and demanding greater transparency and accountability in use of the MC funds.
As many as 227 agendas were taken up during the meeting, including 40 table agendas. The proposed Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) project, estimated at around Rs 1,198 crore, was kept pending along with 26 others.
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Bhatti questions duplicate estimate
Councillor Gaurav Bhatti objected to a proposal concerning the laying of tiles in HIG Colony near Lovely Sweets in Ward No. 26. He said Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) had already sent a proposal for administrative approval for tiles worth around Rs 19 lakh at the site, while the MC had prepared another estimate of around Rs 21 lakh for the same work.
He sought fixing of responsibility on officials concerned, including SE Parveen Singla, and called for an inquiry into the preparation of the duplicate estimate.
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Objection to single tender for CCTV work
Bhatti also questioned the proposal to award CCTV camera work worth around Rs 5.76 lakh to contractor Manmohan Singh through a single tender. He demanded that the provisions of the Punjab Transparency In Public Procurement Act be followed fully in the matter.
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Fogging project under scrutiny
On the fogging project, Bhatti questioned the claim of a saving of around Rs 6.91 crore. He said the expenditure on permanent MC employees and machinery already available with the civic body would continue and therefore the actual financial impact of the project should be reassessed. He said the MC should not approve a project that could result in a loss of more than Rs 1 crore.
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Revised estimates raise questions
Bhatti opposed a proposal seeking an additional expenditure of around Rs 15 lakh for replacing P1 pipes with NP3 pipes, saying the non-availability of the specified pipe in the market was a contractor-related issue and the additional burden should not be put on the MC. The agenda was kept pending.
He also questioned a 2023 work whose estimate had first been revised by around 9.8 per cent and was now proposed to be hiked by another 14.2 per cent, taking the cost from around Rs 31 lakh to Rs 46 lakh. He demanded a site inspection and a detailed report explaining the repeated revisions.
A similar objection was raised over the Saggu Chowk road work, where the original estimate was prepared for a 15-foot-wide road but the width was later shown as 25 feet, leading to a proposed 24.99 per cent revision. Bhatti demanded that responsibility be fixed on officials who had initially measured the site. The agenda was kept pending.
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LED street light payment opposed
Bhatti strongly objected to a proposal seeking additional payment to Tata company for LED smart street lights for an additional 3,650 hours.
He said the Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) record should first be checked to establish how long street lights had remained non-functional in the city. Payment for the period during which lights remained off should be deducted before considering any payment for additional hours, he said.
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Water coolers payment questioned
Bhatti objected to a proposal seeking payment of around Rs 2.62 lakh from the MC funds for water coolers installed in the North constituency under the Punjab Nirman Programme.
He said that if funds meant for the project had not been received, the MC should not pay for the works from its own exchequer. The agenda was kept pending.
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ISWM project kept pending
The proposed Integrated Solid Waste Management project (ISWM), worth around Rs 1,198 crore, was also kept pending. Bhatti raised concerns over the livelihood of thousands of families associated with door-to-door garbage collection. He demanded that unions concerned be consulted before the civic body takes a final decision on the project.
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Concern over general quota works
All files under the councillor quota were approved. However, Bhatti raised concern over the large number of works being proposed under the general quota.
He asked Mayor and officials to fix a limit on the number of development works that an MLA can get sanctioned under the general quota so that councillors’ development works do not suffer due to the allocation of funds under the general quota.
He also urged the DCFA to first reserve funds for councillor quota works and essential MC requirements. Only funds left after meeting these requirements should be considered for general quota development works, he said.
“The MC treasury is public money. My objection is not against development but against unnecessary expenditure, financial losses and spending without proper scrutiny. Accountability and transparency must be ensured for every rupee,” Bhatti said.
