Azad group making baseless allegations: Mohali Deputy Mayor

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 27

Coming down heavily on councillors of the Azad group for questioning the leasing of 3.54 acres to cattle breeders, Mohali Municipal Corporation Deputy Mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi today said the group had become an “anti-city party” and the people of Mohali city would never forgive them for this.

Bedi stated this on the sidelines of the laying of paver blocks in Phase II here. He said the Azad group had suffered a drubbing in the corporation elections held in January and now it was well known that their condition was going to get worse in the coming Assembly elections. So, the group was now raising baseless and ridiculous questions on the work done by the present dispensation.

Earlier, the Opposition (Azad group) had alleged at a press conference yesterday that GMADA had leased the piece of land to the MC and the corporation could not illegally sub-lease it to the cattle breeders. The Opposition had also alleged that that was being done by former minister Balbir Singh Sidhu and the Mayor’s team to take possession of the expensive land in their personal clutches.

Bedi said in the villages under the MC jurisdiction, villagers left their animals in the city which led to accidents. He said the MC, at its House meeting to be held tomorrow, would bring a resolution to move around 1,000 animals to 3.5 acres, out of a total of 13.5 acres. The MC would take a lease amount of Rs500 per month per animal from the cattle breeders and Rs300 per month for calves below one year of age.

Bedi further clarified that the allegation of the Opposition that the land was leased by GMADA to the MC was false. He said the land had been allotted to the corporation by GMADA.