Political slugfest hits Patiala Municipal Corporation works

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 11

Various public works are in a limbo due to politics among councillors. A meeting of the Finance and Contract Committee convened on November 15, where a number of works were to be passed, had to be postponed for want of quorum. Now that the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections has come into force, those works can’t be started during the election period.

The public works were already delayed for nearly two months, thanks to the political slugfest among councillors. Residents said the MC should get special approval to start the works during the election period (till March 10).

At the November 15 meeting, called by Mayor Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, the MC was to issue work orders for the construction and renovation of dharamshalas, old-age homes, for laying interlocking tiles, etc. Later, a meeting was called for a vote of confidence, the proceedings of which were challenged in the court. The Mayor and the Senior Deputy Mayor Yoginder Singh Yogi, who claimed to be the acting mayor, both called meetings of the F&CC separately but the matters remained inconclusive.

The Local Government Department, on a request of the MC, gave the powers to issue work orders for the pending projects to the MC Commissioner on January 7. The very next day, the model code of conduct came into force.

Commissioner Vineet Kumar said today, “We had sent a request to the Local Government Department to take a decision on the pending works in December. It gave permission to issue work orders on January 7. All pending work orders were then issued and a few works were started on the ground as well. However, most works are pending.”

The corporation is now sending a list of works with their status to the district electoral officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner.

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