Will take up MC financial issue with Centre, Guv tells House
Amid the ongoing financial crisis, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria assured the Municipal Corporation (MC) that he would take up the issue of increasing financial support to the civic body with the Central Government.
Addressing the MC House meeting today on various pressing issues concerning the City Beautiful, Kataria emphasised the need for a grant that matched the civic body’s rising expenditure, although he did not announce any immediate financial relief.
“The MC must work on enhancing its revenue to become self-sustaining. However, I am actively exploring options to provide additional financial assistance to the MC. I will propose an annual increase in the grant-in-aid in line with the growing financial obligations, especially given that salaries and other fixed costs are climbing each year,” he stated.
Property tax being the primary source of income, he suggested the arrears from major defaulters with paying capacity must be recovered without imposing a burden on the less fortunate.
Meanwhile, AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra demanded an inquiry into the expenditure on solid waste management. Saurabh Joshi of the BJP sought a probe into the recruitment carried out in the MC to check ghost employees. He also demanded a third party audit of all Smart City projects. Nominated councillor Satinder Singh Sidhu demanded a land-pooling policy for the villages of the city.
Earlier, Mayor Kuldeep Kumar welcomed the Administrator and briefed the House about the various civic activities under the ambit of the MC.
Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar gave a brief presentation about the past five years’ grant-in-aid received by the MC. He said the corporation was working towards increasing revenue and curtailing expenses. He also requested for a positive intervention from the Administration to help the MC come out of the financial crunch.
The Administrator interacted with the councillors and shared his public life experiences from his vast political career. He said once elected, the councillor belonged to the public at large. The purpose of his visit is to get to know about the issues of the MC House, understand these and help the civic body in finding solutions. The Administrator advised that working committees may be formed within the MC House regarding various important subjects in order to increase its efficiency. He said to increase the potential of revenue generation in the city, they need to build world-class education facilities, promote medical tourism and organise sports competitions regularly at both national and international levels. A third party audit may be carried out for all projects under the MC, he added.
One of the most important revenue sources is property tax and therefore, property valuation should be done periodically, he added.
Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi said that they were taking measures to enhance revenue but immediate grant was needed to restart stalled development works. When roads were maintained by the MC, the revenue generating departments like RLA should be transferred to the MC, he added.
Recruitments to be probed
The MC will hold a probe into all recruitments done in the past years. Councillors have raised objections over recruitments carried out in the MC in the past five years. According to official figures realised in the House, the number of employees increased from 8,587 in 2023-24 to 9,748 in 2024-25. Demanding an inquiry into the recruitments carried out in the MC, AAP councillor Ram Chander Yadav said more than 15 such employees had been recruited in his ward recently. Yadav said he had also submitted a complaint against a Junior Engineer for hiring his brother as a supervisor. Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar said a detailed check would be carried out on recruitments done in the previous years.
Need for ring road
The Administrator laid emphasis on a ring road proposal in order to decongest the traffic passing through the city. He assured all help in this regard to obtain funds from the Centre.
