MINUTES OF THE 201st MEETING OF GENERAL HOUSE OF …Pawan Kumar Bansal Ex-officio Member 3. V.P....

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MINUTES OF THE 201st MEETING OF GENERAL HOUSE OF THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION CHANDIGARH HELD ON 30.12.2013 AT 11.00 A.M. IN THE ASSEMBLY HALL OF THE CORPORATION.

The following were present:

Sarv/Sh./Smt:-

Mayor 1. Subhash Chawla

2. Pawan Kumar Bansal Ex-officio Member

3. V.P. Singh, IAS Commissioner

4. Kashmiri Devi Sr. Deputy Mayor

5. Satish Kumar Deputy Mayor

6. Dr. Amrit Tiwari Councillor

7. Sat Paul Bansal Councillor

8. Prof. Aruna Goel Councillor

9. Maj. D.S. Sandhu (Retd.) Councillor

10. M.P. Kohli Councillor

11. Dr. Shagufta Parveen Councillor

12. Surinder Bahga Councillor

13. Babu Lal, I.A.S. (Retd.) Councillor

14. Sat Parkash Aggarwal Councillor

15. Darshan Kumar Councillor

16. Sheela Devi Councillor

17. Saurabh Joshi Councillor

18. Pardeep Chhabra Councillor

19. Gurbax Rawat Councillor

20. Gurcharan Dass Kala Councillor

21. Naresh Kumar Councillor

22. Harjinder Kaur Councillor

23. Asha Kumari Jaswal Councillor

24. Rajinder Kaur Councillor

25. Poonam Sharma Councillor

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26. Arun Sood

27. Malkiat Singh

28. Harphool Chander Kalyan

29. Rajesh Kumar Gupta

30. Mukesh Bassi

31. Satinder Singh

32. Heera Negi

33. Davesh Moudgil

34. Jannat Jahan Ul Haq

35. Des Raj Gupta

36. Rajiv Gupta, PCS

Councillor

Councillor

Councillor

Councillor

Councillor

Councillor

Councillor

Councillor

Councllor

Councillor

Secretary

The following Officers also attended the meeting: -

Sarv/Sh.:-

1. Sunil Bhatia, PCS

2. S.S. Bida

3. Mukesh Anand

4. R.C. Diwan

6. Dr. B.K. Salwan

7. Inderjit Gulati

8. Jai Pal Singh

9. Arjeet Singh

10. Sham Lal

11. Rajesh Bansal

12. B.K.Dhawan

13. Gurpreet Singh

14. Surinder Pal Singh

15. Krishan Pal Singh

At the outset of the

Commissioner & all the Councillors.

Additional Commissioner-I

Chief Engineer

S.E.(B&R)

S.E.(PH)

M.O.H.

XEN (Roads-I)

XEN (Roads-II)

XEN (Roads-III)

XEN (P.H. Div No-I)

XEN (P.H. Div No-II)

XEN (P.H. Div No-III)

XEN (P.H. Div No-IV)

XEN (Electrical)

XEN (Horticulture)

meeting, the Secretary welcomed the Mayor,

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AGENDA ITEM NO. 201.1

Confirmation of the minutes of 199th & 200th meeting of the General House held on 29.11.2013 at 11.00 a.m. & 19.12.2013 at 2.30 p.m. respectively in the Assembly Hall of the MC, Chandigarh.

The Secretary placed agenda item No.1 before the House for confirmation of

minutes of previous meetings.

The Mayor welcomed the House and apprised that the minutes of previous

two minutes were to be confirmed. He further said that the House was holding its 201st

meeting in which the remaining agendas are to be discussed in which Sh. Surinder Bahga

had raised the issue about the estimates of roads and which were deferred and it was

decided to bring the same after amendment. Besides these agendas, four questions are

also to be discussed. He further requested the House for smooth & amicable proceedings

of the House. He further suggested that as per prevailing practice, the minutes of both the

meetings should be confirmed first. He further apprised that an agenda was approved by

the House for exemption from property tax to the Ex-Servicemen & their families, but the

minutes of said agenda had not been properly recorded and the same had been amended

and circulated as under :-

“The House considered & resolved that the matter be recommended to the Chandigarh Administration for exemption of House/Property Tax on Residential lands & buildings to Serving/Retired Defence Personnel.

It was further resolved to recommend the same for gallantry award winners and the persons who have died in action of the Central Paramilitary forces, State Police Forces and the Fire Department of Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh.”

Major D.S.Sandhu (Retd.) appreciated the amendment and said that all the

serving and retired military personnel should be covered under the said minutes.

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The Commissioner said that in the minutes of 199th meeting at page 19, the

D.C. rate had been mentioned Rs. 10,498/- and the same should not be treated as a

part of the minutes, because D.C. rate changes from time to time. He further said

that in case of Rickshaw/Rehri Bye-Laws, the Commissioner & Mayor had been

authorized to amend the clauses of the bye-laws from time to time.

“It was resolved that in place of Rs. 10,498/-, the word D.C. rate be read.”

Sh. Arun Sood invited the attention of the House towards the minutes at

page No.24 of 199th meeting regarding the sale of meat & fish by the vendors. He

suggested that word “non-vegetarian” should be inserted instead of meat & fish.

Sh. Arun Sood pointed out that at page 26, “Sh. Mahinder Chaudhary” may

be read instead of “Sh. Maninder Chaudhary”. He further said that at page No.7, last para

of his statement and at page No.5 (2nd Para) should be treated as bold.

The Commissioner said that the Clause No.6 & 7 at page 18 of the

minutes will be written in legal language.

The Mayor apprised the House that the resolutions were passed from

time to time regarding the demise of some important persons, but we did not send

our sentiments to the concerned department or the family of the deceased. He

further said that recently, we passed the resolution regarding the death of Sh.

Nelson Mandela and suggested that the feelings of the House should be conveyed

to the concerned Embassy through Administration.

Smt. Gurbax Rawat said that at page No.12, para No.4 of the minutes of

200th meeting held on 19.12.2013, “MIG” may be read instead of “LIG”.

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Sh. Arun Sood said that his statement at page No.12, Para No.2 of the

minutes of 200th meeting may be read as under :-

“In case of lease hold basis house, the house has been rented out, why

the lessee should pay the tax.”

Sh. Arun Sood said that at page No.11, the “Administration” word should

be substituted as “Central Government.”

Sh. Gurcharan Dass Kala pointed out that the residents of Manimajra

already had been paying the property tax irrespective of the size of the House. He asked

what is status regarding the property tax in Manimajra of houses less than 125 sq.yards.

The Commissioner said that he could reply his query after going through the

notification.

Sh. Arun Sood asked about the resolution passed at page No.21 regarding

recruitment of posts of two Law Officers in M.C. Chandigarh.

The Commissioner apprised that the post of Law Officer was very sensitive,

therefore, both the posts would be filled up through deputation from the Chandigarh

Administration. He further said that the Chandigarh Administration could create two

additional posts of Law Officers meant for the M.C. Chandigarh. The deputationist from

Chandigarh Administration would be well versed regarding the current cases/rules of the

Municipal Corporation, therefore, it would be better to take the Law Officers from

Chandigarh Administration rather than from Punjab & Haryana.

Smt. Harjinder Kaur said that the Chandigarh Administration should bear all

the expenses of education of said student, who was raped by the 4 Policemen of the

Chandigarh Police and she further emphasized that the deterrent punishment should be

given to the accused.

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The Commissioner said that the matter was sub-judice and the Corporation

should not intervene in the judicial process. The court would decide the quantum of

punishment to the culprits.

“The House by majority confirmed the minutes of 199th & 200th meeting of the General House held on 29.11.2013 at 11.00 a.m. & 19.12.2013 at 2.30 p.m. respectively in the Assembly Hall of Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh”.


Request for grant of exemption from the Property Tax of Hospital-cum -Rehabilitation Centre, Sector 38(West), Chandigarh.

The Secretary placed agenda item No.3 before the House for consideration

and approval.

The Commissioner apprised the House that the Hospital-cum-Rehabilitation

Centre, Sector-38 (West) Chandigarh, was exempted from the property tax for the year

2011-12. Now the proposal is for exemption from property tax for the year 2012-13 &

current year 2013-14.

Sh. Arun Sood said that the Government College & Hospital Sector-32, had

not been exempted from property tax, why this rehabilitation centre was being exempted

from the property tax. He further said that the offices of political parties should also be

exempted from property tax because there had been no commercial activities.

The Commissioner told that this institute was being run with their own

contribution and donation of the public. No grant-in-aid is given by the Government.

Therefore, the M.C. had been exempting the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

in the last year.

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“The House considered & resolved for exemption from the property tax for the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sector-38 (West) Chandigarh, for the year 2012-13 & 2013-14.


Pilot Project on opening the Play grounds of Govt. School in Chandigarh for children in the local area after school hours.


and approval.

The Mayor said that it was the prolonged demand of the Residents Welfare

Associations & other residents of the city that the play grounds of the schools should be

opened for playing the children after school hours. The matter was taken up with the

Administration and raised in the Co-ordination Committee also. Ultimately, the request of

the Corporation was accepted by the Administration in principle to provide the play ground

of all the Government Schools for the children of that area. He further said that a view of

the Education Department came into light that the female children would also come for

playing there after school hours late in the evening, what measures should be adopted to

ensure the safety of such children. The second aspect was the damage of school building

& labs etc. He further told that during that discussion, he gave an assurance that the two

guards in each school would be provided by the Corporation during that period to ensure

the safety of children and the second issue was relating to the school building. He

committed that in case of damages of school building, window panes and lab, the

Corporation would bear the expenses for the maintenance of that school building. Further

it was also decided that the Physical Education Teacher would be present at the time of

playing. He further said that it was just like MOU between the Administration and the

Corporation. He further told that first of all Government Sr.Sec.School, Sector-21, had

been selected under this project. He further said that the Councillors may submit their

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consent for a school situated in his/her area for providing the play grounds for

consideration and further action.

Sh. Pawan Kumar Bansal, M.P. pointed out that from the perusal of agenda,

it reveals that only the students would be allowed to play in the play grounds of the

concerned schools. He said that the play grounds should be opened for all the children

irrespective of their school. He insisted that out of school children should also be allowed

to play in the said grounds. He suggested that the condition of I-Cards should be deleted

from the agenda.

Sh. Darshan Kumar Garg said that only the Government Sr.Sec. School,

Sector-21 had been selected under this project for opening the play grounds of Govt.

Schools in Chandigarh. He further asked about the colonies & villages.

The Commissioner apprised that according to this pilot project, the school

was to be selected by the Councillor and the approval would be granted by the

Corporation. He further said that the Commissioner should be authorized for negotiation

and incurring the expenses in this regard.

Dr. Amrit Tiwari suggested that a green net should be erected around the

playgrounds, so that the window panes of the building can be saved.

Smt. Harjinder Kaur said that on the demand of the students of Sector-35,

the school ground was allowed for six months, but it could not be run for long time in view

of the security of school property. She further said that if the security was being provided

the Corporation could implement the decision immediately in all the schools.

Major D.S.Sandhu (Retd.) appreciated the proposal and asked how we can

check the outsiders, because such children creates nuisance in the play grounds and he

insisted only the children of that area should be allowed.

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Sh. Arun Sood said that there was no Government School in Sector 38-A &

B and three big grounds had been developed there. He further suggested that the

playgrounds of private schools should also be covered under this project. He further said

that the viability of providing first aid kit should also be worked out. He further pointed out

that the condition No.10 should be deleted and the playgrounds should be opened on

Sunday also. He further said that the elected Councillors are members of the governing

body of the school and they can obtain the permission from the Principal of said school.

He further pointed out the condition No.10 (e) that the engagement of two guards would

be more expensive as there are 110 Government Schools in the city and an amount of Rs.

22.00 lac per month would be involved in this scheme. He suggested for only one guard.

Sh. Des Raj Gupta told that there was a Govt. Sr.Sec. School in Indira

Colony, Manimajra, which is being run in double shifts and except the playground of said

school, there is no other playground in the area. He asked what was the alternative in

such situation. He further suggested that the vacant land in his area should be developed

in the play ground.

Sh. Satinder Singh said that an academy was being run in Govt. School,

Sector-27, Chandigarh and the said academy had been running very well. The school has

sometimes requested for cutting of grass, but the Corporation did not take any action. He

demanded that the grass of the playground of the school should be cut.

Sh. Saurabh Joshi said that the facility of playground was being provided in

the sectors where Government Schools are available, but what about the area where the

Government schools are not available? He suggested that the small court yards like

basketball, volleyball & table tennis etc. could be constructed in the neighborhood parks.

He further said that his proposal was rejected by the Chief Architect, U.T., Chandigarh.

He further said that the area of Manimajra comes within the jurisdiction of M.C.

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Chandigarh and vacant land is available there and suggested that the indoor stadium

should be constructed there.

The Mayor told although Manimajra is the part of Municipal Corporation, but

in the master plan the land has to be got earmarked by the Chief Architect.

Sh. Gurcharan Dass Kala apprised the House that the work was started on a

ground in Manimajra, but that was left incomplete. He said that if the leveling of that site is

done, a good park will be available in Manimajra.

Sh. Arun Sood said that where the Government Schools are not available,

the neighbourhood parks should be allowed for playground after erecting a net of 20 or 25

feet height.

The Commissioner told that the proposal was rejected by the Chief Architect,

Chandigarh as green belt was to be converted into concrete playground. He further said

that the proposal for court yard playground would be sent to the Chief Architect for

approval.

Sh. Pardeep Chhabra apprised the House that a resolution was passed for

the construction of international stadium in Chandigarh and land was also suggested for

that stadium. He suggested that the matter should be taken again.

The Mayor said that there would be requirement of land for international

stadium equal to the space of two sectors, therefore, it is not possible to construct the

international stadium in Chandigarh. He further suggested that the Cricket Stadium of

Sector-16, should be undertaken by the Municipal Corporation, which is lying abandoned

since many years.

The Councillors seconded the proposal of Mayor for undertaking the Cricket

Stadium, Sector-16, Chandigarh.

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“The House considered & approved the Pilot Project in principle for opening the play grounds of Govt. School in Chandigarh for children of the local area after school hours as detailed in agenda note. It was further resolved that the Commissioner be authorized for the approval of expenditure on similar lines for other schools as and when the Chandigarh Administration authorizes other schools for the said project.

It was also recommended that a proposal be sent to the Chandigarh Administration for handing over the Cricket Stadium, Sector-16, Chandigarh, to the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh.”

AGENDA ITEM NO. 201. 5

Rough cost estimate for providing and laying 40mm thick bituminous concrete on main roads and Light Point, Sector-39 West to Dadumajra Village, Chandigarh and 25mm thick SDBC on various market in Dadumajra, Chandigarh.


and approval.

Sh. Surinder Bahga said that the dimensions in the DNIT had been

mentioned in running meter and some where it had been mentioned in sq. meter. It was a

serious ambiguity.

The S.E.(B&R) assured that necessary rectifications would be done.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.151.64 lac for providing and laying 40mm thick bituminous concrete on main roads and Light Point, Sector-39 West to Dadumajra Village, Chandigarh and 25mm thick SDBC on various market in Dadumajra, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”


Rough cost estimate for providing and laying 40mm thick bituminous concrete on V-3 road Jn.55 to U.T., boundary diving Sector-55/56, Chandigarh.


and approval.

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“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.58.78 lac for providing and laying 40mm thick bituminous concrete on V-3 road Jn.55 to U.T., boundary diving Sector-55/56, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”


Rough cost estimate for providing and laying 25mm thick SDBC on V-6 road in Sector 36 C&D and parking of Sector-36, Chandigarh.


and approval.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.73.42 lac for providing and laying 25mm thick SDBC on V-6 road in Sector 36 C&D and parking of Sector-36, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”


Rough cost estimate for the work of recarpeting of V-4 road and parking in Sector-15, Chandigarh.


and approval.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.126.37 lac for the work of recarpeting of V-4 road and parking in Sector-15, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”


Rough cost estimate for providing and laying 40mm thick bituminous concrete on V-5 road in Sector-56, Chandigarh and providing and laying 25mm thick SDBC on parking (Green Belt) in Sector 26, Chandigarh.

The Secretary placed agenda item No.9 before the House for consideration and approval.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.79.82 lac for providing and laying 40mm thick bituminous concrete on V-5 road in Sector-56, Chandigarh and providing and laying 25mm thick SDBC on parking (Green Belt) in Sector 26, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”

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Rough cost estimate for recarpeting of V-6 Roads in Sector 32-A, Chandigarh.


and approval.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.70.29 lac for recarpeting of V-6 Roads in Sector 32-A, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”


Rough cost estimate for providing and laying 30mm thick bituminous concrete and 25mm thick SDBC over 20mm thick open graded premix surface after scarifying the V-4 Road and parking in Sector 28, Chandigarh.


and approval.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.129.55 lacs for providing and laying 30mm thick bituminous concrete and 25mm thick SDBC over 20mm thick open graded premix surface after scarifying the V-4 Road and parking in Sector 28, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”


Rough cost estimate for providing and laying 40mm thick bituminous concrete on V-3 road between Sector 26 and 26-E, Chandigarh.


and approval.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.135.97 lacs for providing and laying 40mm thick bituminous concrete on V-3 road between Sector 26 and 26-E, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”

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Rough cost estimate for Providing and laying 30mm thick bituminous concrete and 25mm thick SDBC over 20mm thick over graded premix surface after scarifying the V-4 Roads and parking in Sector 27, Chandigarh.


and approval.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the rough cost estimate amounting to Rs.123.70 lacs for providing and laying 30mm thick bituminous concrete and 25mm thick SDBC over 20mm thick over graded premix surface after scarifying the V-4 Roads and parking in Sector 27, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”

The House was adjourned for tea break at 12.15 p.m. and reassembled

at 12.40 p.m.

The Mayor apprised the House that the funds allocated for the development

of Colonies and villages were earmarked, but the said funds had been exhausted and the

funds for colonies and villages are lying unspent in P.H. Wing. He sought the permission

of the House for utilizing the funds available in the “Villages & Colonies Head” on the

development works of Villages & Colonies.

The House unanimously resolved that the surplus funds available in the village & colonies head in Public Health Wing be transferred to the Road Wing. It was further resolved that in case the funds are not available in the villages & colonies head in B&R Wing, the funds available in the similar head be transferred to the B&R Wing.”

The Mayor further said that a resolution had been received through the

Chairperson of Women & Empowerment Committee for giving the financial powers to the

said Committee like other committees.

The Commissioner said that the head of every committee had been created

for utilizing the funds according to their powers, but no financial had been assigned to the

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Women & Empowerment Committee and no head had been created for it. He further told

that the funds would be provided from the general budget and a separate head would be

created in the next year.

The House considered & accorded the approval to meet the expenses

of Women & Empowerment Committee from the general budget i.e. 2012-13.

The Mayor informed the House that a function on “Campaign against female

foeticide” was being organized in Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector-16, Chandigarh and invited

all the members of the House to participate in the said function.


Question/Answer

The Secretary placed agenda item No.2 before the House for discussion

1. Question by Sh. Satish Kumar Kainth, Deputy Mayor, Municipal

Corporation, Chandigarh regarding Verka/Vita Milk Booths

Sh. Satish Kumar Kainth thanked the Mayor, Commissioner & Officers for

the reply of his question. He appreciated the reply which was very much correct. He

further told that according to the reply, total strength of booths was 104. He further said

that he contacted to the Verka/Vita milk booth tenants and they told that they had been

paying the rent to the Verka/Vita management and it also came into notice that the

Finance Department, U.T. Chandigarh also had directed to both the agencies to deposit

the rent with the Municipal Corporation, but the rent had not been deposited so far. He

further told that an audit para also had been framed by the audit party due to non-receipt

of rent from the Verka/Vita Booths. It is recurring loss to the Corporation.

The Commissioner said that these booths were allotted to the Verka/Vita,

but the allotment letter of Verka booths were not available with this office as allotment was

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done by the Chandigarh Administration. This office is trying his best to find out the original

allotment letters issued to the verka booths by the Estate Office. He further said that the

Corporation was collecting the relevant documents from Estate Office or other office, then

the Corporation would be able to recover the rent/arrear of rent. He further told that the

Corporation had received positive reply from Verka.

The Mayor said in the beginning these booths were allotted to Verka

management for the sale of milk in the morning and evening, but now these booths had

become a shop these booths are functioning like showrooms as all kinds of milk products

& other articles is being sale in the said booths. Moreover, the tenants of the booths had

encroached the municipal land around the milk booth. He further said if the said booths

are transferred to the Municipal Corporation, we can rent out these booths @ Rs. 50,000/-

per month. In this way, we can generate the revenue of the Corporation and we should

take this issue seriously.

Sh. Pardeep Chhabra told that some of the booths had been erected in the

green belts. He suggested that such milk booths should be shifted from the green belts

and alternative site should be allotted to them.

Major D.S.Sandhu (Retd.) suggested that the guidelines should be framed

regarding the milk booths first, then the matter would be examined and the action could be

taken accordingly. He further suggested that a time bound policy should be framed, so

that the rent could be recovered.

Sh. Rajesh Gupta asked how many booths had been constructed/allotted by

the Municipal Corporation. He further said that the survey of all booths situated in villages

should also be got done as these booths are being used by anti social elements in the

evenings.

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The Commissioner told that no milk booth had been allotted by the

Corporation. These booths either belongs to the verka/vita and had been allotted by the

Estate Office, Chandigarh. As all the parks/green belts had been transferred to the

Corporation, therefore, these booths are now situated on the Municipal land.

Sh. Arun Sood said that the washrooms of the mini markets in all markets

were handed over to the Corporation and maintained by the Corporation, but the common

verandas of the markets is in deteriorated condition, which requires the repair. The

verandas of the Mini Markets had not been transferred to the Corporation by the Estate

Office, therefore, the Corporation can not maintain the said verandas. He suggested that

the Administration should be requested to hand over these verandas also to the

Corporation for maintenance.

The Mayor assured that the Corporation would write to the Estate Office to

hand over the possession of these connected verandas to the Corporation.

Sh. Malkiat Singh apprised the House that there were 16 shops of Municipal

Corporation situated in Village Badheri. He further said that a wine shop was being run in

Shop No.6 and tavern in Shop No.8 of Village Badheri. The tavern is totally illegal. He

further said that the health clinic, karyana shop and other shops had been running

adjoining to wine shop. The tenant and public of the market are feeling suffocated as the

nuisance is created by the drunkards. He suggested that the said wine shop & tavern

should be shifted from there. He further said that 10 shops belonging to the Municipal

Corporation are situated in Village Buterla, which were constructed by the then Gram

Panchayat and the condition of these shops also very deteriorated and any mishap can

happen at any time. He suggested that the repair of these shops should be got done

immediately. He again requested that the wine shop and tavern should be got closed,

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which are being run in Shop No.6 & 8 of Village Badheri. He further told that these booths

had been subletted by the allottee and the stern action should be taken against him.

Dr. Amrit Tiwari said that the sweepers of washrooms had been keeping

their brooms & dusters etc. in the washrooms. She suggested that a separate cabin

should be constructed to keep the said material there.

2. Question by Sh. Malkiat Singh, Councillor, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh regarding detail of expenditure on encroachment removal party.

Sh. Malkiat Singh thanked the officers for the reply of his question and he

further said that the information furnished by the office was incomplete. He pointed out

that the expenditure incurred on fuel & maintenance of vehicles had not been provided in

the reply of question. He further read out the information submitted by the office and

according to his version total 4 to 6 challans had been issued by an Inspector per day.

He further read out the reply of item No.6 and wanted to know how many times the joint

drive was launched. He further read out the question and reply of item No.8 regarding the

seizing of gas cylinders. He further said that how many times, the drive had been

launched to ascertain the legality of gas cylinders. He suggested that the matter of fake

cylinders should be taken seriously and the stern action should be taken against the user

of duplicate cylinders, because these cylinders may become the cause of any serious

mishap.

The Commissioner replied that when the issue of enforcement is raised, the

expenditure and money realized through penalties cannot be weighed. The enforcement

is meant for deterring the people from doing the offence. He further said that the joint

drives are organized many a time, but written figures are not available. The enforcement

is a continuous exercise and wherever required the inspectors of other departments are

also called for assistance. As far as the duplicate cylinders are concerned, it is not within

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the preview of the Municipal Corporation. He further apprised the House that a team

consisting of two inspectors had been constituted to remove the encroachment on V-3

roads. He further said that the vendors on V-6 roads should not be harassed

unnecessarily because this action would affect the poor people.

3. Question by Sh. Saurabh Joshi, Councillor, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh.

Sh. Saurabh Joshi said that his question should be kept pending for detailed

discussion in the next meeting. In view of his request, the question has been kept

pending.

4. Question by Sh. Satinder Singh, Councillor, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh.

Sh. Satinder Singh said that the matter relating to the toilet blocks had come

in the news for few days and something was fishy in the matter.

The Mayor apprised that this case was seven years old. He further told that

generally the works of non-plan does not come in the F&CC, but this tender was brought

in the F&CC in the year, 2007. The matter was discussed at length in the F&CC. He

further said that when the first complaint came to his notice, he called for the file and it

came to notice that the matter was discussed in detail in F&CC in the year, 2007 and the

complaint was received in the year, 2013.

Sh. Satinder Singh read out the part „C‟ of the question as well as answer.

He asked apology from friends who had urged him not to stand up to raise this issue. He

further invited the attention of the House towards page 42 vide which the terms &

conditions for the allotment of toilet blocks had been fixed. He further read out the

condition No. 6 & 7 of the allotment. He further read out the condition No.9 & 10 of the

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allotment. He then read out the condition No.12 & 13 of the allotment. He further read out

the reply of question „C‟ at page 12. He told the tender was allotted conditionally, but it

was against the rules, because conditional tender is never accepted. He further said

where the financial implications are involved, nothing is changed without approval. He

further invited the attention of the House towards supplementary agenda item No.1 at

page 112, in which it had not been mentioned anywhere that the Corporation would waive

off the licence fee or advertisement fee. He further read out the minutes of 165th meeting

of F&CC and said that nothing had been mentioned in the minutes regarding the

exemption of licence fee and advertisement fee. He further told that alongwith the

allotment of toilets blocks, 28 connected passage for advertisement also had been given

to the agency. He further read out the Clause No.3 of terms & conditions submitted in

DNIT at page 85. He further read out Clause No.13 of DNIT at page No.86 of the agenda.

He further said the advertisement fee is to be charged according to the Chandigarh

Advertisement Control Order, 1954 and no waiver/refund of advertisement fee shall be

given. He invited the attention of the House towards Condition No.32 of the terms &

conditions that “in case the applicant/successful bidder is not providing and fixing the

advertisement boards/panels due to any reason, the Municipal Corporation shall not be

responsible on any account what so ever may be, and not remission of licence fee shall

be made to the licencee.” He further said that the rates of the advertisement were

revised in the year, 2008. He further invited the attention at page 18 and read out the

scope of work i.e. “there are 46 no. of toilet blocks in 8 No. groups situated in the various

markets of the city, Chandigarh. The above newly constructed/renovated toilets are to be

leased out for a period of 5 years for maintenance, operation and transfer basis.” He

further said that if the licence fee and advertisement fee is recovered from the agency, the

Corporation had to recover an amount of Rs. 8.00 crore from the agency, which is without

penalty. He further said that the recovery amounting to Rs. 9.00 approximately was due

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with penalty against the company. He invited the attention of the House towards Section

122 to 128 of the Municipal Act. He further said that the Municipal Corporation was not

competent to hand over the advertisement, which lies with the Chandigarh Administration.

He further said that the there were three categories of the toilet blocks for advertisement.

He suggested that all the three categories of advertisements should be allotted separately.

He further said before the allotment of these toilet blocks, the House should be taken into

confidence.

Smt. Harjinder Kaur said that this decision was taken at that time, when the

toilets of the city Chandigarh were very shabby and these were in very poor shape. The

decision was taken after involving the Administration that the minimum basic amenities

should be provided in the city and decided that the toilets should be neat and clean. She

further told that she never allowed any contractor to enter her office (Mayor) because she

always kept in mind that this was the responsibility of the Executive body to execute the

work. The agenda was passed unanimously by the House at that time. She further said

that the issue should be avoided in which term the work was done. She further said that

the changes in the documents passed in the year, 2007 was a serious matter.

Sh. Arun Sood said that the audit objection had been raised regarding the

exemption of licence fee and advertisement fee to the agency. It is loss of public money.

He further said that the bid had been finalized @ Rs. 17,303/- per toilet per month,

whereas these were being run @ Rs. 12,884/- per toilet per month. He further said that

10% escalation per year was in-exorbitant. He further said that it was the 2nd time in the

history of Corporation that the Commissioner had given a dissent note on the official

agenda.

Sh. Surinder Bahga said that the Corporation had paid Rs. 7.00 lac to the

company and he had calculated that the revenue from the advertisement came to the

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agency Rs. 24.00 lac approximately. He further said that total Rs. 84.00 lac had been

paid to the agency during the last six years. He further asked how Rs. 9.00 crore can be

due.

The Commissioner apprised the House that amount of Rs. 84.00 lacs was

not justified, it would come in crores. He further asked the S.E.(P.H.) about the facts

given in the reply.

The S.E.(P.H.) told that the facts given in the reply are correct as per record.

The Commissioner told that as far as the earlier tender of 2007 is

concerned, as reported by the office, the work was allotted with the condition that they will

not pay any licence fee as well as the advertisement tax. This matter was also approved

by F&CC in its 165th meeting. He further replied that the audit at that time pointed out that

the advertisement tax will be applicable and thereafter the firm also accepted regarding

the payment of advertisement tax. The view of the office, which comes in the reply is that

there is no advertisement tax imposed in Chandigarh. The advertisement tax and

advertisement fee are different. As far as the decision of the F&CC in 2007 is concerned,

the F&CC would have taken a decision keeping the circumstances in view of that time. It

would not be fair to judge the decision now when the circumstances have changed.

The Commissioner further said that the tender was called in two parts and in

the first instance there was only one eligible company, while there were only two

companies eligible when the tender was floated for the 2nd time. The matter was put up to

the present F&CC with the proposal giving different options for retendering. The F&CC

decided that before taking a decision on the matter, the rates be re-negotiated with the

contractor. Thereafter, the contractor offered the revised rates of Rs.17303/- per month

per toilet. The matter was again taken to the F&CC giving options for re-tendering

because this rate was considerably high compared to the existing rates of Rs. 12,884/-.

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The contractor in both cases was the same. The office was of the view that there was

less competition in the process because of which the rates are higher, but the F&CC

decided with majority to award the contract @ Rs.17303/- per month per toilet block. He

further said that he was of the view that if the work is re-tendered in small groups of toilets,

there could be more competition and thereby lower rates could be expected. Regarding

his dissent note in the F&CC, he said that he opposed the resolution primarily because the

quoted rates are considerably higher than the existing rates, whereas nothing significantly

has changed on the grounds and he also felt that there was not enough competition in the

tendering process.

Sh. Satinder Singh said that the conditional tender was accepted at that time

instead of re-tendering. He further said that if the re-tendering would have been done, the

competition would have been there. He pointed to the letter of audit at Page No.114.

Sh. Arun Sood said that the work should be allotted for the maintenance of

toilet blocks to such a company whose turnover is in lacs. He further said that the

competition had been reduced knowingly. He criticized the terms & conditions of

allotment. He further said that the M/s Selvel Company was also not eligible at initial

stage. He insisted for the competition among the companies and suggested that the small

contractors should participate in the tendering. He criticized the reserve price, earlier

which was fixed Rs. 24,000/-, then Rs. 19,000/- and Rs. 17,303/-. He further said that

there was subletting at the rate of Rs. 4000/- per toilet per month. He further criticized the

10% escalation.

The Mayor said that the all the suggestions had already been adopted by the

Corporation as the traders associations and allotment in small groups were involved in the

maintenance of toilet blocks, but all in vain. He told that in case of tie the Mayor has only

a casting vote in F&CC. He further said that the matter should be reviewed again

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seriously and action be taken if anything has been done not according to rules. He further

said that it would not be a good tradition to review the already passed official agendas.

He further said that however, if any member had objection, he could bring the agenda in

the next meeting.

Table Agenda Item No.201.14

Widening of V-5 road and construction of footpath in Sector 48A & B, Chandigarh.

The Secretary placed table agenda item No.1 before the House for

consideration and approval.

“The House considered & resolved unanimously that the estimate amounting to Rs.80.84 lacs for widening of V-5 road and construction of footpath in Sector 48A & B, Chandigarh, be and is hereby approved.”

The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the Chair.

Secretary, Mayor, Municipal Corporation, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh. Chandigarh.

MINUTES OF THE 201st MEETING OF GENERAL HOUSE OF …Pawan Kumar Bansal Ex-officio Member 3. V.P....

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