Stray dogs, roads & parks among key agenda as F&CC convenes after 2 months
After remaining largely out of action for nearly two months, the Municipal Corporation’s Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) is set to return to business on Saturday with a packed agenda covering stray dog control, road construction, sanitation, parks, water infrastructure and the e-bus depot.
The meeting assumes added significance as it is the first F&CC meeting after the formal election of two new committee members and will also see participation of an Opposition member. Several proposals relate to works and services that have been moving through the MC’s approval process while fresh spending on animal birth control and civic infrastructure will also come up for consideration.
Among the most significant proposals is the plan to spend about Rs 4.95 crore on sterilisation, vaccination and deworming of 30,000 stray dogs. At the proposed rate of Rs 1,650 per dog, the MC plans to engage a fresh agency for the Animal Birth Control programme.
The proposal, however, brings into focus the long-running nature of the city’s stray-dog menace. MC records state that over one lakh dogs have already been sterilised over the past decade, yet the civic body estimates that another 30,000 canines need to be covered.
Officials have cited the need for continuity in the programme and court directions requiring animal birth-control measures to continue. The existing agency was initially engaged under the 2021 process, with its agreement having expired in December 2023 and subsequent extensions being granted.
An official said the MC could not afford a break in the sterilisation work. “The programme has to continue. The new rate has been fixed under the Animal Birth Control programme and the main focus should be on ensuring that sterilisation is carried out properly,” he said.
Animal management will feature in another proposal as well, with the MC planning to revise the payment for cattle being lifted from city roads and maintained at cow shelters to Rs 61 per animal per day.
Three cow-shed operators are already undertaking the work for the civic body while another has expressed interest. The revision will mean an additional financial burden on the MC for cattle management.
The meeting also has a strong infrastructure focus. The committee is likely to consider the construction of Noorwala Road, for which the file records a revised estimate of about Rs 1.24 crore.
The agenda also includes the rejuvenation and upgrade of ramps of Jagraon Bridge, repair and renovation of Gol Market Park in Model Town, maintenance of a triangle park near Dholewal Chowk and development and maintenance of other parks.
A proposal has also been listed for the adoption of the Mini Rose Garden at Giaspura for maintenance.
The civic body is also seeking approval for a 3,600-KW electricity connection for the Ghoda Colony e-bus depot, indicating that the F&CC agenda is not restricted to conventional road and sanitation works.
Other proposals include the purchase of a litter-picker machine, extension of the time limit for sanitation workers in the Health Branch and a salary increment for eight junior draftsmen working in the Town Planning Branch.
The committee will also deal with files involving substantial financial proposals. These include the digitisation of official MC records under the World Bank-funded Punjab Municipal Services Improvement Project, where the lowest financial bid is about Rs 3.59 crore, around 30.66 per cent below the estimated cost of Rs 5.18 crore.
A proposal for construction of two badminton and basketball courts under the Gill Canal flyover is also listed. The lowest bid is about Rs 26.69 lakh, against an estimated cost of Rs 29.22 lakh. Another proposal concerns the supply of various material at the MC’s Main Central Store, with an estimated cost of Rs 81.55 lakh.
