IN AN embarrassment for the engineering wing of the Municipal Corporation, newly elected Mayor Arun Sood refused to inaugurate renovation work of the civil dispensary in Sector 38 on Tuesday morning. After having come to know that the inauguration was a mere formality as public health and electrical wing had not even allotted tenders for the work so far, Sood returned from the spot apologising to the area residents who had gathered for the event. The B&R wing, the public health wing and the electrical wing were to carry out renovation work in Sood’s own ward. After reaching the spot, he got to know that while tenders for the work to be carried out by B&R had been allotted, these were not allotted for those works which were to be carried out by the public health and electrical wing. This was despite the fact that four months ago, funds of Rs 2.5 lakh each had been released to the departments concerned. Miffed over the poor coordination between their departments, Sood said, “How can I inaugurate a work which won’t begin in the next couple of months? Tender allotment is a long process and till now they have not even floated tenders.” The mayor called up Chief Engineer Mukesh Anand to inquire into the matter and fix responsibility of the official concerned. Anand was also told that they keep speaking of poor coordination between MC and UT Administration whereas there was no coordination between MC’s own departments. Anand is currently holding the charge of Chief Engineer of UT Administration as well. “I need to check this. The delay must have been at the level of executive engineer concerned,” Anand told Chandigarh Newsline. The inauguration was scheduled for 11 am. All the local residents, including representatives from the civil dispensary, had gathered on the spot but went back disappointed. This was Sood’s first inaugural ceremony since he became the mayor.
