Ludhiana: Ram park in Atam Nagar looks like an oasis of green in the bustling industrial city. With its serene environment, it should have been the pride of the MC but has ended up becoming an embarrassment. The reason is not the park but MC officials’ move to announce its “development”, for which they drew up estimates.Members of the Finance and Contracts Committee, senior deputy mayor Rakesh Prashar and deputy mayor Prince Johar are not happy with these estimates and have demanded action against the officials who prepared them. The reason was succinctly put forth by deputy mayor Prince Johar during the F&CC meeting, where he pointed out that the park had already been developed. He wondered what development could be done on an already developed park. The resolution was cancelled at the time, but later the issue resurfaced before MC commissioner Neeru Katyal Gupta and senior officials, who did not take kindly to it. Unsurprisingly, the resolution made no mention about the work necessitating the Rs 37.25 lakh estimate prepared by officials. When the deputy mayor sought an explanation about the proposed work, none was forthcoming. Sources said officials are trying to come up with a convincing justification of the estimate. A senior official said on condition of anonymity that the recommendation had come from an MLA. He pointed out that the boundary wall of the park was too short to deter stray dogs from entering. It was suggested that the height of the boundary wall be raised and iron grills be installed. The need for replacement of a few damaged tiles was also underlined. He downplayed the issue saying it was no big deal as no work had been done on the ground and no money spent so far. Meanwhile, senior deputy mayor Rakesh Prashar maintained that it was not enough to cancel a resolution without checking if there was a hint of wrongdoing. He wondered about the rationale of spending public money on a park which had been beautifully developed. He also said they had asked the commissioner to take action against erring officials. The present situation, he said, had raised questions on past F&CC resolutions to develop parks. Deputy mayor Prince Johar maintained that they were working for the development of the city but public money could not be wasted. Saying that they had visited the park, he maintained that anyone could go and see if it actually needed redevelopment.MC commissioner Neeru Katyal Gupta said that on checking, the park was found to be up to the mark and the proposal was dropped. She added that the money could be spent at some other place, where it was actually required.Notably, many resolutions about redevelopment and construction of parks have been approved in finance and contracts committee meetings in the past but in most proposals, there was no clarity about the nature of work. Vague Proposal Deputy mayor questions why redevelopment was proposed without specifying any workResolution cancelled after objections; issue later taken up by MC commissionerOfficials unable to explain what the estimate was meant for; justification still awaitedSenior official says proposal originated from an MLA and cited low boundary wall, damaged tilesAction demanded against officials for issuing questionable estimatesMC commissioner says park found in good condition; proposal droppedPast F&CC park resolutions also lacked clarity on work detailsMSID:: 129633674 413 |
