Amid staff strike, MC panel clears ₹13cr development projects
MAINTENANCE 50 projects, including laying of roads, sewerage, drains, water supply, were allocated to contractors
: Amid the ongoing strike by the municipal corporation (MC) staff for the arrest of the former mayor, the finance and contract committee (F&CC) on Saturday approved all pending works pertaining to the development of the city.
Sources in the MC said the strike will resume from Monday as mayor Jagdish Raja managed to convince the officials to attend the F&CC meeting.
The mayor and MC commissioner Diprava Lakra have allocated work orders of 50 development works, costing ₹12.9 crore, under the Punjab infrastructure development board (PIDB) grant and MC funds to various contractors.
Four other committee members — senior deputy mayor Surinder Kaur, deputy mayor Harsimranjit Singh Bunty, councillor Gurwinder Singh Bunty Neelkanth and councillor Gyan Chand — along with heads of departments were present.
Works pertaining to laying of roads, sewerage, drains, installation of streetlights and water supply, which were lying halted are now expected to start soon.
Meanwhile, the MC employees are demanding arrest of the former mayor Suresh Sehgal, who was booked for assaulting building inspector Dinesh Joshi, who had gone to check an illegal encroachment in ward number 54 on Sunday.
NEW SITES FOR TWO FOOT OVERBRIDGES DISMANTLED IN 2008
The mayor will form a committee to decide new sites for the installation of the two foot overbridges (FOBs) that were dismantled in 2008, following the construction of new flyovers.
As per information, the MC had allocated a project for construction of two FOBs to a firm, Durga Publicity, on build on operating and transfer (BOT) basis for five years in 2005.
The BOT is a policy in which the entrusted company is supposed to build a project and earn profit from it for the given tenure. Following this, it hands over the project to the MC. Durga Publicity had to earn profit from the FOBs through advertisements.
Construction of new flyovers near Khalsa College and BMC Chowk, however, necessitated the dismantling of the FOBs in 2008.
Durga Publicity, then, filed a case in the high court, which directed the MC to give new sites to the firm for the remaining term.
The firm also demanded extra eight years as compensation apart from the remaining 42-month duration of the BOT.
The two FOBs are expected to be installed outside Khalsa College and Apeejay College of Fine Arts.