Dy Mayor warns of protest for Mohali’s Phase 3B2–Phase 7 belt drainage project

“Despite completing every requirement, the Chief Engineer Committee keeps sending the file back with new objections each time,” he said, adding that the project has been “hanging for five months without a single step forward.”

He pointed out that during every downpour, areas such as Mataur, Kumbhra Chowk, Mataur village and parts of Sectors 70 and 71 remain submerged in knee-deep water, severely disrupting movement and threatening public safety. “The MC has fulfilled its responsibility. Continually returning the file is equivalent to playing with the interests of Mohali’s citizens,” Bedi said.

Issuing an ultimatum, the Deputy Mayor warned that if the Local Government Department does not clear and forward the estimate within two to three weeks, he will launch a sit-in protest outside the Director’s office. “This is not about politics or personal benefit. This is about the safety and convenience of Mohali’s people,” he asserted.

He further stressed that the Rs 7-crore road-widening project up to Bawa White House cannot begin until the stormwater line is laid. Otherwise, the new road will have to be dug up again, “wasting public money, time and government resources”.

With the file now lying entirely with the Local Government Department, the next two weeks will determine whether the long-pending drainage work finally moves ahead or whether Mohali’s Deputy Mayor begins his protest outside the department headquarters.

The civic body had earlier conducted a detailed drainage survey, investing a significant sum. The survey clearly recommended the same stormwater interventions for these flood-prone belts. Bedi said the current estimate was prepared strictly in accordance with that survey, yet the Local Government Department is “deliberately delaying” its approval.