MC panel finalises Citizen8217;s Charter draft

CHANDIGARH, Sept 3: A core committee of the Municipal Corporation today finalised the draft of the Citizen's Charter. The document lists ...

CHANDIGARH, Sept 3: A core committee of the Municipal Corporation today finalised the draft of the Citizen8217;s Charter. The document lists out various services provided by the Corporation and the method for quick redressal of complaints.

The Charter was approved by the committee comprising members of the Finance and Contract Committee and heads of other committees of the Corporation. It will now be submitted for approval of the House all the elected and nominated councillors at their meeting to be held at the end of the month.

The Charter also specifies the officer dealing with the various services, mentioning their telephone and pager numbers.The whole area under the Corporation has been divided into 10 zones. Each zone will have one complaint centre which will cater to the needs of two electoral wards. According to members of the committee, this is another step taken by the Corporation towards prompt redressal of grievances and decentralisation.

In case the complaints are not attended to properly and not taken care of as per the prescribed time schedule in the Charter, the residents have been urged to bring it to the notice of the next higher authority. After the Charter is approved by the House, copies will be made available to the residents at specified venues.

Where maintenance of roads and parking places is concerned, MC has specified that 8220;filling of potholes and patch repair work will be carried out in one week from the date of the complaint. Patches caused by water leakage/stagnation will be attended to within two weeks from the date of the complaint.8221;

The officers dealing with roads and the specific areas under their jurisdiction have been listed in the Charter, along with their pager numbers.

The charter highlights that the garbage dumped in front of any house, industrial/commercial office shall be removed at the cost of the owner of the building. In case the 8220;malba8221; is dumped at a common place, the welfare committee of the area will have to share the removal charges.

Story continues below this ad

Permission will also have to be taken for use of road berms or other municipal areas for storage of building material for construction purposes. In case of new construction, addition or alteration, the Charter specifies the fee for the municipal area required for the storage in two categories _ up to and above 1,000 square feet. In the category of water supply, officers dealing with water meter connections have been specified. Duplicate water bills, if required, will be issued on request by the concerned Sub-Divisional Engineer SDE free of cost on the same day.

According to the Charter, complaints regarding billing etc will be attended to within three days. In case the consumer is not satisfied, he or she may approach Executive Engineer Public Health, Division Number 2, Sector 11, between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on working days.

Regarding defective water meters, the consumers can lodge their complaints with the sub-divisional engineer concerned and deposit the testing fee too.

The complaints will be attended to and the meter replaced within a period specified in the Charter.

Story continues below this ad

Water supply complaints like blockage of ferrule, muddy water in supply line or leakage in the distribution system will be attended to within two days of the receipt of the complaint. The Charter also takes up the issues relating to sewerage and drainage, horticulture, health and sanitation, community centres, 8220;janj ghars8221; and open spaces.

The meeting was presided over by Mayor Gian Chand Gupta. The councillors who attended it included Prem Sagar Jain, Ranjana Shahi, R. K. Aggarwal, Surya Pandit, Shanta Abhilashi, R. L. Arora and Kewal Krishan. Senior officials of the Corporation were also present at the meeting.