‘Cash-strapped’ Patiala MC splurges on Innovas

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 28

The Congress government’s austerity drive seems to have bypassed Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s home turf. The Patiala Municipal Corporation has bought two new Innova vehicles for the newly elected Mayor and the MC Commissioner.

Sources said the vehicles, each costing around Rs 12.88 lakh to the corporation, were bought to replace the Ambassadors being used by the Commissioner and the Mayor. “The Patiala SSP is using a Scorpio and the DC is using an old vehicle for official purposes. The Ambassadors are in running condition and have been passed on to junior officers in the MC for official use,” they added.

The purchase comes at a time when the MC could not manage enough funds for spray during the dengue spread. Fund crunch during the past 10 years has hampered development as many projects, including the solid waste management plant, canal-based water supply plant, shifting of dairies, start of city bus service and beautification of the Rajindra Lake, await completion.

Former Mayor Amarinder Bazaz told The Tribune that the Chief Minister had made it clear that due to financial crunch only unavoidable expenses should be done from the government money, but in his own constituency his own party’s leaders defied his advice.

“I used the same Ambassador during my tenure and there was never a problem. Instead of buying two new vehicles using corporation funds, the MC authorities should have thought of completing pending development works,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition Sukhpal Khaira asked the CM to act against the Mayor and the Commissioner for misusing government funds. “The two could have avoided spending public exchequer’s money on such wasteful expenditure and instead focused on carrying out urgent repairs in the city. The Commissioner gets a government vehicle and the Mayor could have waited for a few months till some development work is started in Patiala,” Khaira added.

Mayor Sanjeev Bittu said the previous government had okayed Rs 42 lakh for the purchase of vehicles for the MC and they had only spent Rs 26 lakh. “We have gone in for low-end variants of the SUV. This is no wasteful expenditure as the old cars were not in very good shape,” he added.

Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira said the government nod to buy new vehicles was received during the tenure of the previous House. “However, I waited for the new House to take over. Also, the MC is short of vehicles,” he added.