Councillor seeks probe into defunct security gates

He said as per the plan,security guards were required to be deployed at every gate to close and open the gates every night and morning but no such system was put in place,leaving the gates open all day and night and instead creating hindrance at the spots.

“While MC authorities hold police and residents welfare associations responsible for deputing security guards,the police and residents were not ready to bear the expenses,” argued Bedi,while adding that the gates have become source of income for a private firm without serving any purpose.

Bedi also threatened to move competent court of law in case no action was taken to make the gates operational within 15 days.

Pertinently,Municipal Council had recently installed 39 security gates in all 11 Phases under MC limits in Mohali. As per the MC’s plan,security gates were installed at the entry and exit points of all the phases to keep a round-the-clock vigil and check the entry and exit of the visitors to the specific area.

However,the gates have failed to serve the purpose as nobody was deputed to close and open the gates,which in turn remain wide open all day and night.

The gates were installed on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis by a private contractor,who would operate the gates for six years continuously before transferring them to MC for future operation.

While the contractor has started earning revenue from sole advertisement rights,which he has been given,the area residents,who were supposed to depute a security guard at a picket,which have been built along the gate,to operate the gate on daily basis,have refused to bear the expenses.

As per the scheme,the entry and exit of the houses was to specified and restricted through specific gate,on which their numbers were to be displayed and it was left as per wish of the area residents to decide the opening and closure timings of the gates and how to check the entry and exit of the outsiders to the area but no such system was put in place as yet. It was on the recommendation of Mohali’s former SSP Jatinder Singh Aulakh that the MC,at its meeting on February 27,had unanimously resolved to install security gates.

Aulakh had made the recommendation in view of the rising number of thefts even during daytime across the city,which he had attributed to the free access to the outsiders,vendors and suspected elements without any check.