UT questions transfer of V-3 roads from MC to its dept
The move came following the legal assessment of the subject by the law department of UT administration, which forced the local bodies department to issue a written reply on the relevant provisions for the same.
The UT's local bodies department will now make a decision only after MC responds to the issue raised by the Chandigarh administration. However, sources in the administration revealed that they failed to find any such provision to transfer such roads from MC to the UT administration, and are, therefore, awaiting MC's reply with specific provisions of the specific Act.
The letter from the UT's local bodies department to the civic body states, "It is intimated that as per the advice of the law department, UT Chandigarh, kindly provide the relevant provisions of Act/Rule through which the transfer of V-3 roads, from the control of MC Chandigarh to the UT's engineering department can be taken up."
Significantly, despite stiff protest from both opposition parties — Congress and AAP, the BJP-led MC approved the agenda to transfer V-3 roads to the UT administration in its general house in March.
Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla pushed for it, citing the poor condition of the roads. The municipal commissioner also gave his consent to it.
Rejecting the agenda, councillors of the opposition parties criticised the mayor and BJP, saying that instead of transferring the roads to the administration, the mayor should bring funds from the Chandigarh administration to improve the road conditions. Despite this, the agenda was approved.
BOX
As per MC records, there are 68 V-3 roads in the city, which fall under the jurisdiction of the MC. These roads span a length of 262.43km with a width equivalent to 12ft. The annual expenditure on recarpeting these roads is between Rs 10 crore and Rs 12 crore. "As per practice, the roads are recarpeted after a physical verification every five years, and approximately one-fifth of the total length of these roads is carpeted each year.
Due to a scarcity of funds, the work of carpeting has been pending for the last several years. The total cost involved for carpeting these V-3 roads is approximately rupees 26 crore," sources in the MC said. Moreover, due to the paucity of funds, besides V-3, the road re-carpeting works of other roads have also been pending for over two years, and none of the roads have been re-carpeted, which has led to the poor condition of roads in the majority of the areas of the city.
Box:
THE ROADS YOU TAKE
The roads of the city are classified into 7 categories
V-1: Fast roads connecting Chandigarh with other towns
V-2: Arterial roads
V-3: Fast vehicular sector dividing roads
V-4: Meandering shopping streets
V-5: Sector circulation roads
V-6: Access roads to houses
V-7: Footpaths and cycle tracks
WHY THE FUSS OVER V-3 ROUTES
As per MC records, there are 68 V-3 roads in the city, which fall under the jurisdiction of the civic body
These roads span a length of 262.43km with a width equivalent to 12ft
MC spends anything between Rs 10 crore and Rs 12 crore every year on recarpeting these roads
QUOTE
As per practice, the roads are recarpeted after a physical verification every five years, and approximately one-fifth of the total length of these roads is carpeted each year. Due to paucity of funds, the work of carpeting has been pending for the last several years, leading to the poor condition of roads in several parts of the city. The total cost of carpeting these V-3 roads is Rs 26 crore
MC officials
Stay updated with the latest local news from your
city
on
Times of India
(TOI). Check upcoming
bank holidays
,
public holidays
, and current
gold rates
and
silver prices
in your area.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with
Raksha Bandhan wishes
,
messages
and
quotes
!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
7 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Monsoon Session of the Assembly: Private school fee regulation Bill cleared after four-hour debate
The BJP-led Delhi government's first Bill regulating fee hikes by recognised private unaided schools was passed by the Delhi Assembly after a heated four-hour debate on Friday. All eight amendments proposed by AAP to the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, were rejected during voting by the BJP-led House. The legislation will now be sent to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena for approval. During division of votes, 41 ruling BJP MLAs and 17 AAP legislators were present in the House. Tabled by Education Minister Ashish Sood earlier this week, the Bill was introduced in response to the massive protests by parents against fee hike in the Capital this year. The Bill mandates a three-tier committee at the school, district and state levels – comprising parents and teachers – which will approve the hike in fees. Sood assured the House that audits and financial scrutiny would remain mandatory when the Bill is implemented. 'If even one parent member in the committee disagrees, the proposal will not be approved. They will have veto power. Management cannot impose its will,' he added. Leader of Opposition, AAP's Atishi, however, accused the government of siding with school managements. 'This Bill is only and only in the interest of private school owners,' she said. Recalling protests earlier this year when parents faced steep hike in fees, she added, 'In 40-degree heat, parents stood outside schools… Children were stopped from entering schools and held like hostages. Now, the increased fees of April 2025 have been made the basis of this Bill.' She also warned that requiring 15% of the parents in a school to file a complaint against fee hike would make the redressal mechanism harder. To this, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said, 'If we had made the requirement 25% (percentage of parents needed to file a complaint), they would say why not less… This Bill will bring transparency, strict penalties for violations, and ensure education is seen as a temple of learning, not a shop for profit.' Calling the Bill 'a beautiful law in the interest of the people of Delhi and the parents', Gupta claimed it to be 'the end of a 52-year exile for parents'. She said that previous governments had failed to tackle the issue, leaving Delhi with 'schools in tin sheds and 20,000 vacant teacher posts'. Previously, the Bill had received opposition from parents groups, who claimed the proposed framework lacked transparency, as it was drafted without consultation with stakeholders and allegedly gave disproportionate control to school managements. Bill at a glance
Indian Express
7 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Delhi CM says workers deprived of welfare schemes by AAP, cites CAG reports
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday accused the previous AAP-led government of neglecting construction workers by depriving them of welfare schemes, alleging that Rs 5,200 crore remained unused in the labour welfare fund even as thousands of workers continued to wait for essential support and benefits. The CM had tabled four CAG reports on Monday, the first day of the ongoing Monsoon Session, and referred to those while speaking in the Assembly on Friday. Claiming that the AAP government had an anti-worker mindset and anti-labour approach, Gupta said that while the Central government provides registration and renewal services to workers for free, the AAP-led Delhi government imposed a fee Rs 25 for registration and Rs 20 for renewal. She also said that while only 7% of workers' data was renewed annually in Delhi, there was a 100 per cent renewal at the national level. 'It is deeply unfortunate that despite having rightful access to these schemes, lakhs of workers in Delhi were deprived of their entitlements. The Rs 5,200 crore (fund) remained idle while the working class waited for relief. The Supreme Court eventually had to instruct the government to credit Rs 8,000 into the bank accounts of 90,000 eligible workers,' she said. Quoting one of the CAG reports, Gupta detailed how funds allocated for various schemes related to maternity benefits, disability support, tool purchase, housing assistance, family pensions, accident compensation, and skill development remained either unutilised or grossly underutilised over several years. Intensifying her attack on AAP further, she called the situation a reflection of the party's 'elitist mentality' and said that the CAG reports should be referred to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for investigation. She also demanded stringent action against all officials and ministers who failed in their duty to uphold the rights of the workers. Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta referred the report on construction workers as well as two other CAG reports on Delhi government's finance accounts and appropriation accounts for 2023-24, presented in the House on August 4 by the CM, to the PAC.
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
BJP's ‘Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign starts from Sunday
Bhopal: State BJP's Har Ghar Tiranga (Tricolour in every house) campaign will commence from Sunday. State BJP President Hemant Khandelwal said on instructions of the central leadership, party workers will hoist the tricolour with pride in every house. The Har Ghar Tiranga campaign will be run across the state from August 10 to August 15, Independence Day. The state BJP office said that the campaign will be organised at the divisional level from August 10 to August 14 by the party's Mahila Morcha and the BJYM (Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha). On August 14, on India Partition Horror Memorial Day, a silent procession will be taken out along with an exhibition. State party chief Hemant Khandelwal said that maximum participation of the general people and various organisations will also be ensured in the campaign along with a Tiranga Yatra. "From August 12 to August 14, a cleanliness drive will be run around the monuments of freedom struggle, war memorials, and important places related to the freedom movement across the state," Khandelwal said. "From August 13 to August 15, citizens and party workers will hoist the tricolour in all the houses and establishments of the state. After hoisting the flag on August 15, party workers will also ensure that it is taken down respectfully in the evening," he said. Khandelwal also said that after the cleanliness drive, along with offering floral tributes, the families of the war heroes, martyrs, and policemen who sacrificed their lives in the service of the country will be honoured by visiting their homes. The state BJP President said that under the campaign, a silent procession will be taken out in all the districts on August 14 to observe the Partition Horror Memorial Day. By organising meetings, the youth will be made aware of the horrors of the partition through exhibitions. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
