Councillors unhappy over SC’s interim order

Vijay Bansal,President of Shivalik Vikas Manch,V K Kapoor,then an independent councillor,and B B Singhal,BJP councillor and then Vice President of Panchkula Municipal Council,challenged the notification in High Court (HC),where on October 29,2010,the division bench comprising Justice M M Kumar and Justice A N Jindal ruled that the merger could not be done as it is in violation of Haryana Municipal Act.

Against this order,the government went to the Supreme Court,where the division bench comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma stayed the High Court order and directed for expediting the hearing.

Ravinder Rawal,a Congress councillor,who was president of the Municipal Council,Panchkula,said,“We have cleared so many projects related to community centres for slums,street lighting on B-roads,computerisation of records,putting up of sector guide maps,cowshed plan,strengthening of fire department and rain shelters in parks. All the development works will be delayed.”

BB Singhal,who is also one of the defendants in the present case before the Supreme Court said,“It has become a joke. We are losing credibility. Contractors are not interested in tenders related to development works in the city as every six months our status changes.”