Deepkamal Kaur
Jalandhar, November 9
It’s been two months since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government declared the names of 10 chairmen of the Improvement Trusts in Punjab, however, no notification regarding their appointment has been issued yet.
A list of 10 names for the post in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala had been issued along with those for Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Moga, Samana, Rajpura, Khanna and Fazilka.
In Jalandhar, hoardings congratulating AAP spokesperson Jagtar Singh Sanghera for getting appointed as the Chairman of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust have been put up across the city since September 9. One such hoarding has also been put up outside the Improvement Trust office.
The name of AAP leader Kundan Gogia had already been cleared for the post of Samana Improvement Trust Chairman and Parveen Chhabra for that of Rajpura. However, before a notification could come for their appointment, their posts were abolished.
Gogia said, “I have been told that the Samana Improvement Trust has been dissolved as it was proving to be a financial burden for the government. I have no issues with the decision. The party can give me any other responsibility.”
Local Bodies Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar said: “The procedure is now near completion. Since our party is in election mode for the time being, it may take some more time.”
He confirmed that 10 trusts had been already dissolved and 10 more could follow the same suit. “We will retain the Improvement Trust offices in bigger cities and towns and ensure proper development in their areas,” he said.
The Local Bodies Department has dissolved the Improvement Trusts, including those at Kotkapura, Khanna, Nangal, Samana, Malerkotla, Rajpura, Abohar, Kartarpur and Machhiwara.
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