AAP slams Admn for burdening city with Rs 402-crore French loan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 17

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today slammed the UT Administration for burdening the city with Rs 402-crore loan from a French firm.

In a press statement, AAP convener Prem Garg said: “The Administration is patting its back for getting Rs 402-crore loan from France for augmenting the water supply in the city without realising that the officialdom is burdening the future generations of the city for several decades to come.”

“Water tariff has already been increased up to 300 per cent. To repay the loan, the Administration proposes to further increase the tariff from year 2027 to 2042, which naturally will never be rolled back even after the loan repayment. Officials say that interest on loan is just 2 per cent, but what about the effect of currency fluctuations? The price of dollar keeps going up with time, which will result in inflated repayments. Who knows what will be the price of dollar from 2027 to 2042,” Garg said.

“The city doesn’t need 24x7 water supply. It will lead to more wastage of water. The Administration should concentrate on checking leakages, wastage and theft of water first,” he opined.

“The Administration must be sensitive to public opinion. Any proposal to spend public money must be put in public domain first. There should be a provision for getting online public opinions so that a considered decision can be taken. Details of the project, its cost, timeline and details of the contractor should be displayed at every project site for transparency,” the AAP leader suggested.

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