‘Corporation be allowed to implement decisions’
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 5: Mayor Jammu, Rajinder Sharma took strong exception to Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) being treated as a Department by the bureaucracy instead of a decision making body and said that being an elected body there should be no interference in its functioning by the bureaucracy and it should be free to implement the decisions taken in the House by the elected representatives of the people.
Chairing a meeting of JMC here, today at JMC Conference Hall which was attended by Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary, Revenue, Mayor regretted that the process of functioning of JMC is problematic as the civic body is being treated as a department while it is an elected body.
Rajinder Sharma said for execution of works the JMC has to take approval in aggregate first and then work wise approval is to be taken which creates impediment in the construction process as the entire working season goes in taking the approval and execution of works suffers which in turn puts people into problems. This system needs to be changed, he added.
He said suppose Rs 10 lakh are provided for execution of a particular work and after tendering the said work its tender goes to seven lakh but the Rs three lakh which are saved there by in this particular work are not released to Municipality for execution of another work. Moreover, if a contractor executes a particular work in two months but he has to make rounds for entire year to get the payment which is a problem being faced by contractors.
He said bureaucracy should not make undue interference in the working of JMC which has decision making powers.
Mayor said that the Commissioner JMC who should implement the decisions taken by the house remains preoccupied by administrative matters and this way too the implementation of decisions suffers.
He said likewise the Executive Engineers working in the Municipality have no drawing and disbursing powers. They be given these powers for smooth functioning of their offices. Mayor made it clear that the elected body should be allowed to work as per the wishes of public and it should be free from bureaucratic interference.
Moreover, the staff strength in the civic body should be as per the re-organisation of JMC and the vacant posts be filled up at an earliest so that JMC can come up to the people’s expectations. He said the JMC is also working on a formula to create its own resources instead of depending on Government for everything.
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