Justify your monthly salaries: MC Commissioner to officials

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 24

Facing an acute financial crunch, Municipal Commissioner Diprava Lakra has set Rs 12.5 crore as the minimum monthly recovery target for MC officials.

While speaking to The Tribune, Lakra said the MC had a monthly salary liability of Rs 12.5 crore.

“The officials should at least justify their salaries. I have asked them to recover arrears at least equivalent to their salaries,” said Lakra.

The officials were initially asked to recover Rs 120-crore arrears kept pending from the Property Tax and Water supply and Sewerage departments.

“While Rs 60 crore remains pending in the Property Tax Department, another Rs 60 crore remains pending in the Water Supply and Sewerage Department,” said Lakra, adding that these arrears have accumulated since 2013 till date.

While only 35 per cent of the city population pay their taxes on time, the officials are unable to recover over Rs 2.5 crore a month.

The Building Department on Tuesday submitted a detailed report of 71 identified buildings alleged to have been constructed illegally in the city. The buildings were among the 93 buildings identified by Punjab Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu as illegal.

Mayor Jagdish Raja, upset with officials, have claimed the report to be a mere eyewash by them to save their skin.

“The officials have managed to conceal the majority of the facts to hide their alleged connivance. Though I asked them to file a detailed factual report, they failed to comply with my directions. I will lodge a formal complaint with the Local Bodies Minister,” claimed Raja.

Raja alleged that despite issuing repeated warnings, the officials did not comply with the orders of the General House.

“They do not have any respect for the MC House and do not even attend its meetings or receive copies of the proceedings. This is a serious matter and I will seek a detailed probe into the matter,” Raja said.

He added that he would lodge a formal complaint with Sidhu over the issue.

Earlier, the Mayor has submitted a report of over 45 buildings to Sidhu and sought more time to prepare the report of the rest of the buildings. While the Vigilance team was carrying out a separate technical inspection of the buildings, the building branch too was busy preparing a report for the same.

Mayor gets report of illegal buildings, calls it ‘eyewash exercise’

The Building Department on Tuesday submitted a detailed report of 71 identified buildings alleged to have been constructed illegally. The buildings were among the 93 buildings identified by Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu as illegal. Mayor Jagdish Raja, upset with officials, have claimed the report to be a mere eyewash by them to save their skin.  “The officials have managed to conceal the majority of the facts to hide their alleged connivance," he said.