Congress slams MoU signed by outgoing Jalandhar Mayor

Congress party expressed strong opposition to an MouU signed by Jalandhar Municipal Corporation (JMC)’s outgoing Mayor Rakesh Rathor with a subsidiary of a Philippines-based private company Manila Ocean Park for the building of an aquarium and food court in Company Bagh on Built Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

The Congress questioned how an outgoing Mayor could sign such an important pact which will operate for the next 45 years when the new MC House has already been elected. Under the project the company will be given 4,500 square yards of land.

The aquarium and food court will be built at a cost of Rs 30 crore and will be completed in two years. The JMC will get annual lease money of Rs 11 lakh with an increase of 10 per cent every year. MC Commissioner Vinay Bublani said that it was an old project passed by the MC House long back and approved by the state government. “The signing of the MoU was just a formality,” he said.