Councillors question MC probe,blame Mayor for ‘inviting’ it

While a compromise had been reached after the UT Home Secretary intervened,the Mayor had continued her tirade against the administrative officials.

Councillor Harjinder Kaur said that the inquiry is a self created problem for the Mayor. “When a compromise had been reached,there was no need for the Mayor to question the powers of the Administration or demand more powers. Any tussle could have been resolved internally. The inquiry just shows our inefficiency,” she added.

According to Kaur,the step will impact the functioning of the corporation and projects under JNNURM will get delayed.

A Congress councillor said that Kamlesh has failed as a Mayor. “She should not have acted in the manner she did. It is because of her faults that the enquiry has been marked,” he said.

Meanwhile,there are councillors who are questioning the relevance of the probe. Another bone of contention is that the inquiry committee is headed by a councillor. It is being felt that since the probe is against functioning of MC someone from outside should have been handed over the charge.

Councillor Jatinder Bhatia said that it is not clear what the inquiry is about.

“If some action had to be taken then the House should have been consulted. The Home Ministry’s Advisory Committee could have been asked to solve the issue. Ordering such an inquiry is unfortunate,” he said.

The inquiry will look into procedure followed in sanctioning foreign tours/ visits of the councillors/ officials of the Municipal Corporation,purchase of equipment used in various projects,whether the rules and regulations are being followed,and if not,what are the corrective measures.

‘Mayor is holding agenda items’
The officials as well as councillors are alleging that the Mayor has been holding back agenda items and not approving them for the House meetings. Of the 11 agenda items presented before her prior to the last House,nine were rejected. An official of the MC informed that this has been happening for the last six months. Development agendas are not being brought to the House.