Manraj Grewal: What are the powers of a Member of Parliament? Before elections we say, politicians say they have all the powers, they will do everything. After elections, they say they don’t have any power. Practically speaking, an MP’s role is not that of an executive but it shouldn’t be taken as if I am somehow trying to say that I have no role to play, not owning up anything. When I am talking of the constitutional position as such, MP has no executive powers. His role is only that of a law maker and law maker’s role is very-very limited because any piece of legislation is initially prepared by the officers from legal department from his own department, then it is cleared by the Cabinet and it finally comes to Parliament. MPs are nominated as the chairperson of the district grievances committee where they exercise their influence and get their things done. Now when we began with this MPLADS, there was a debate on this issue that this scheme is actually an executive function. Rs 5 crore per year is placed at your disposal, you make a recommendation. The Deputy Commissioner and others can’t change it. They have to execute it after seeing that it is done within the parameters. I will say MP’s role is more of an influencer. He may not have the power to sign something, to execute it but if the MP is desirous to get things done, he can see it through. When I come to my own track record, even when I was in opposition during 1999 to 2004, it was Atal Behari Vajpayee’s government, but I got many good projects, one was IT park. If an MP is determined, I feel he can can get more things for his constituency being in opposition than being in the government. Because then the minister will like to appease you thinking that “nahi toh yeh shor machayega”. Manraj Grewal: Which are the major issues of Chandigarh? From number 1 position in cleanliness we have now slipped to rank 20th. Back to those times when we had nothing like this Swachh Survekshan, we were on number one. The current situation is pathetic, it’s very unfortunate to see these results. I promise that we will begin with scientific disposal and proper segregation of waste. It’s not very big; in fact, it s very small undertaking. Keeping in main focus the garbage heap in Dadumajra which is a big problem, it will be looked upon seriously. There are ways where we can involve people. Secondly, Chandigarh was already a smart city .We should have abundance of green trees. Over the years, this has not been followed. Chandigarh is ranked on 67th number which is again a big problem for all of us to re-think. Because the tasks involved under smart city project have not been taken up. It was a budget of Rs 1,000 crore for five years. What they did was that they made a cut on general budget and transferred that amount for smart city. As of now, only Rs 20 crore has been used, that too for a project which is a subway from Sector 17 to Rose Garden, and I will say that this subway is a total waste of money. They could have just installed pelican lights for the movement of pedestrians there. Remaining funds have been spent only for establishment of projects. We need to use our funds smartly. Third, I want to restore the glory of Chandigarh. As an estimated value, there are almost one lakh seventy thousand vehicles that enter every day from adjoining towns which cause a lot of traffic congestion and thus can only be solved with metro. On this particular point, Kirron Kher and I have different views because she talks about mono rail which is good for a distance of just 15-20 kilometres. But only metro can serve the purpose. Manraj Grewal: In your opinion, which mode of transport is better for Chandigarh in the future: monorail or metro, and why? Monorail is not a suitable option because Chandigarh gets a lot of people from the Tricity while monorail will be restricted only to short distances. It can work only in just the Chandigarh zone and we need to consider Chandigarh is capital of two states. We need to think with a broader prospective, we need to provide suitable and best option for citizens. Metro can be easily accessible and it’s not going to harm the city as Kirron Kher thinks. On the other hand, we can’t think of both the options because then again it will be a mess; just one mode, that is metro, can serve the purpose.The cost will be more but for longer duration metro will be the best. She thinks monorail will gel with the city plan but it is always elevated and that won’t suit at all. This will somehow disturb our city’s sky line. I have given all the reports as I began my work in my regime. The reports have been prepared, soil testing has been done. We hardly need to disturb the entire system, we have all the facilities and technology. It was supported by all the members initially. She was also in favour of metro initially but then suddenly she went against it. We have wasted a lot of time. Just because of different views, the city has been harmed. In the last five years, they have done nothing but just talked about not to have a metro. Sofi Ahsan: What are your views on the budget allocation for Chandigarh in the last few years? I will specify that the budget allocation to Chandigarh has been squeezed all these years. The last budget that UPA government presented was Rs 813 crore on the planned side. That was the interim budget for year 2014-15. The new government had the chance to modify it. Planned budget is where you get new projects for the city. But when they [BJP] came in, they revised this budget and brought it down to Rs 610 crore. So, there was a cut of almost Rs 200 crore in the first year itself. In the next year, the actual amount spent was Rs 403 crore. So, that means more than half of the initial budget amount proposed by us, was knocked of. The point is that till this day, even after five years, we haven’t reached that figure of Rs 813 crore. In 2018-19, the revised budget was Rs 505 crore. And, it has a telling effect on all the infrastructure here in the city. We talked of mini-buses, but have not got them yet. We don’t have full staff. We have dispensaries but don’t have doctors. We don’t have teachers in schools, nor principals in colleges. Sukhbir Siwach: What are the options for enhancing road connectivity between Chandigarh and Panchkula, which is not as good as it is between Chandigarh and Mohali? I agree we have good connectivity between Mohali and Chandigarh but not the same with Panchkula. There are three options but like Hallomajra, new link road and other one, the fourth one, is still not a very good option via Manimajra. The other one which is still under discussion is across railway station and that can be possible when we have world class railway station. There has to be proper management before this execution. We need more alternative routes. Hina Rohtaki: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced introduction of double-decker sky buses in Chandigarh, as he says the fare of metro will be really high. What are your views on it? Please ask him [Nitin Gadkari] about fares for bullet train as well. I had chosen the best option for Chandigarh that was afternoon Shatabdi instead of double decker. Manraj Grewal: How long will this metro project take? Normally the metro project takes 11 -12 years but Chandigarh is not so expanded. Thus it will hardly take six-seven years here. We have already wasted so many years to decide if metro or monorail is better for Chandigarh. Our city won’t have a lot of lines [metro tracks]. We have plans for basic two lines [metro tracks] which can solve the purpose. We can keep on expanding subsequently, according to requirement of the city. Sukhbir Siwach: Stray dog menace is a problem in Chandigarh. What solution do you have to curb it? I will stop it. All we need to do is, take up the issue and start working. I have also mentioned this in my manifesto. Saurabh Prashar: Navjot Kaur Sidhu was also among the aspirants as party’s nominee from Chandigarh. She was not chosen. Will she be campaigning for you? She will surely come as you know Navjot Singh Sidhu was there with us recently. At present, she has been assigned duty in Bathinda but I will like her to come and campaign here in Chandigarh, too. Manraj Grewal: What is your take on drugs menace in Chandigarh? It is said it exists mainly because it involves those in power and the nexus behind this. What are the measures you will suggest? The nexus is not on the high level but yes, they do contribute to it - drug peddlers, police and local politicians. They (who) are in contact with main leaders. This has to be dealt with. We are sometimes not aware and they get support, so that is not something which we can neglect. Two main reasons are jobless people and the drug mafia. There are instances wherein people in colonies purchase cheaper liquor in bulk and then sell it in their respective colonies at marginally high price. This is one of the manners in which they are contributing to the drug menace. Such practices are rising at a high speed and we need to stop it soon. Varinder Bhatia: What is your vision on job creation in Chandigarh? IT park provided a lot of jobs, but I learnt that most of the companies have shifted to Mohali. At that time when IT park came up, I remember 51,000 jobs that IT park created. We need to look up in IT sector for more generation and then at hospitality sector. In our manifesto, we have mentioned that the companies will be given incentive on the level of jobs they create. Government cannot just offer jobs. We need to create more jobs. It was promised that after demonetisation, more jobs will be created but there were no such results. The year 2017-18 has the highest rate of unemployment as compared to the last 45 years. In 2011, 2.7 per cent unemployment rate was registered, while last year it was 6.1 per cent. With the increasing population, there is also an increase in jobless people. Saurabh Parashar: When you lost 2014 polls, two main factors were attributed to it: one was Railgate and another was Aam Aadmi Party. Do you agree? There was a time when I didn’t choose to answer this but now I want to explain in full detail. I made all my points absolutely clear within two months on the case that is termed “railgate”. If there had been any victim of this case, then it’s only me. It was an allegation by a person who is a senior most officer who asked for promotion that I denied as there was no vacancy for such post. But it was used against me only to destroy my image and get me into trouble. I have devoted myself for [social] service. Now it’s election time. They [other political parties] have nothing against me, so this is the only thing they can raise against me. If you talk about AAP, party’s candidate that time [Gul Panag] was a craze among youngsters. University students and youth could then relate to her more, but it is not the case this time. AAP is not in the race this time. The contest is between BJP and Congress this time. Manraj Grewal: Candidates make promises, but is there any mechanism where the comman man can hold candidates accountable for all their promises? I have a complete check list of Kirron Kher that includes 65 points and most of these have not been fulfilled. During the tenure of MP, neither people nor government can be held for any accountability. We don’t have that mechanism but people do judge you by the promises you made and what you have delivered. Hina Rohtaki: There is a flyover all set to come up on Dakshin Marg. Will it solve traffic congestion? Personally I am not in favour of flyovers for Chandigarh. I would rather prefer underpasses, just the way they have in Delhi. But the flyover that is proposed will shift the traffic congestion from Tribune Chowk to some other point. It would have been better if it was up to Zirakpur. That would have solved the problem in a better manner. Jagdeep Singh: What will be your action plan for improving law and order situation in Chandigarh? I would say that the police have been demoralised because of lack of promotions as compared to Punjab and Haryana. Bringing police officers from Delhi has also demoralised our forces. Law and order situation in the city has deteriorated. Women can’t move out. Chains are being snatched in broad daylight. There is a set norm of people coming to Chandigarh from Punjab and Haryana in the ratio of 60:40. But the first preference should be given to UT cadre. All the people who are eligible for promotion, vacancies should be filled with them. Then the remaining seats can be filled with officers from Punjab and Haryana. (Transcribed by Sumedha Sharma)
