Rs 161-crore Patiala MC Budget cleared amid chaos

The Patiala MC House passed a Rs 161-croreBudget amid chaos on Monday. The meeting witnessed slogan-shouting and a scuffle between BJP and AAP councillors as police personnel intervened to restore order.

The ruckus erupted over a proposal to hike trade licence fee. During a heated exchange, AAP councillor Ranjit Singh (Ward 32) allegedly hurled a file at BJP councillor Anuj Khosla. BJP members, carrying placards, staged a protest inside the House. Khosla was later ordered out of the meeting, prompting the remaining BJP councillors to stage a walkout.

Mayor Kundan Gogia asked Khosla to substantiate his allegations of Rs 30-crore corruption in the MC in the next meeting or face suspension. Despite the ruckus, two of the 20 listed agenda items, including the budget, were cleared by the House.

Meanwhile, the House decided to act against illegal roadside vendors to ease traffic congestion and conduct a survey from Lahori Gate to Dharampura Bazaar to check encroachments. It also resolved to send sanitation workers deployed at officers’ residences back to their respective wards.

Addressing complaints about sanitation lapses, the Mayor announced transfers of sanitary inspectors and supervisors in urban and rural areas, biometric attendance for sanitation staff from April 1 and greater transparency regarding ward-level deployment.

Councillors also flagged the mushrooming of illegal colonies in peripheral areas, alleging that unauthorised water and sewer connections were leading to contamination, waterlogging and diarrhoea outbreaks. The issue of illegal commercial establishments operating in violation of building bylaws within the city was also raised.