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Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Ludhiana civic body concludes probe in property tax scam
LUDHIANA : MC Thursday completed its probe in a scam involving fudging of the payment of property tax to the civic body. A staff of MC's zone 'C' office is also suspected to be involved in it. Well-placed sources said the authorities are planning to take action against the violators, both within and outside MC. The MC employee, who is a suspect, is reportedly claiming innocence. The suspect has also offered to get a narco test done, the sources said. The matter relates to a property in block 29, whose property tax was not paid from 2013 to 2024-25. MC issued them a notice, but their reply stated that they were a charitable institution, on which property tax was not applicable. However, in view of the rules, another notice was served asking them to cough up Rs 82 lakh, folllowing which Rs 28 lakh was deposited in the account of the MC. But the receipts were tampered with, and the amount deposited in the MC account was shown as Rs 50 lakh. The sources said the fact that property tax receipts were tampered with has been confirmed, which administrative officials view as a serious crime. It is being said that while questions are being raised on the integrity of the MC staff, those who paid the property tax are also under suspicion. The inquiry was initiated at the behest of MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal . Dachalwal said, "The inquiry has been completed at the level of joint commissioner Ankur Mahindroo. I am yet to receive an official copy. After proper verification, we will recommend an FIR against the erring persons, whether within or outside MC." It must be recalled that a letter was also sent to the CMO recently for conducting a vigilance inquiry against erring officials. The officials were accused of being negligent in their duty.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
MC concludes probe in property tax scam
Ludhiana: MC Thursday completed its probe in a scam involving fudging of the payment of property tax to the civic body. A staff of MC's zone 'C' office is also suspected to be involved in it. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Well-placed sources said the authorities are planning to take action against the violators, both within and outside MC. The MC employee, who is a suspect, is reportedly claiming innocence. The suspect has also offered to get a narco test done, the sources said. The matter relates to a property in block 29, whose property tax was not paid from 2013 to 2024-25. MC issued them a notice, but their reply stated that they were a charitable institution, on which property tax was not applicable. However, in view of the rules, another notice was served asking them to cough up Rs 82 lakh, folllowing which Rs 28 lakh was deposited in the account of the MC. But the receipts were tampered with, and the amount deposited in the MC account was shown as Rs 50 lakh. The sources said the fact that property tax receipts were tampered with has been confirmed, which administrative officials view as a serious crime. It is being said that while questions are being raised on the integrity of the MC staff, those who paid the property tax are also under suspicion. The inquiry was initiated at the behest of MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal. Dachalwal said, "The inquiry has been completed at the level of joint commissioner Ankur Mahindroo. I am yet to receive an official copy. After proper verification, we will recommend an FIR against the erring persons, whether within or outside MC." It must be recalled that a letter was also sent to the CMO recently for conducting a vigilance inquiry against erring officials. The officials were accused of being negligent in their duty.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MC chief reviews progress of canal-based water supply project in Bilga village
Ludhiana: To expedite the work under the World Bank (WB)- and AIIB-funded canal-based water supply project , municipal corporation (MC) commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal reviewed the ongoing construction of the water treatment plant (WTP) in Bilga village, near the inspection, Dachalwal pulled up the contractor staff and directed them to expedite the works so that the project could be completed in the stipulated time period. Further, directions were also issued to speed up the work of shifting the PSPCL poles from the WTP joint commissioner Ankur Mahindroo, joint commissioner Vineet Kumar, SDM Jasleen Bhullar, chief engineer Ravinder Garg, superintending engineer (SE-Projects) Parul Goyal, among other officials and staff of the contractor, were present during the officials said a world-class water treatment plant (WTP) is being constructed in Bilga village (near Sahnewal) from where treated surface water would be supplied to the city. The first phase of the World Bank and AIIB-funded canal-based water supply project is being taken up at a cost of around Rs 1,300 crore (civil works).MC commissioner Dachalwal said regular meetings of the project monitoring committee (PMC) are being held to improve coordination between different departments involved in the project. Directions have also been issued to expedite the work of laying water supply lines from Bilga village to the city and to establish overhead water reservoirs (OHSR) in different parts of the city, so that the project could be completed within the stipulated time period. MSID:: 121059500 413 |
Hindustan Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana: Amid uproar in MC House, 1,054 agendas passed in 18 minutes
The municipal corporation (MC) on Friday passed its budget comprising 1,054 development agendas worth crores of rupees in just 18 minutes, triggering uproar from the BJP and the Congress councillors. The general house meeting, held at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan, witnessed fierce protests, slogan-shouting and walkout by Opposition members who alleged that they had received the lengthy agenda list only the previous night, leaving them with no time to study the proposals. The meeting, which began at around 10.10 am, was attended by mayor Inderjit Kaur, senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor, AAP MLAs, MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and senior officials. As the meeting commenced, BJP and Congress councillors demanded a zero hour before the agenda items were taken up. They further complained that the detailed list of development proposals, which had been passed in earlier finance and contract committee (F&CC) meetings, had not been shared with them in time. Despite their protests, the agenda was read out by Rajeev Bhardwaj, in charge of the agenda branch, on the commissioner's directive. Throughout the reading and approval of the items, Opposition councillors raised slogans, chanting 'shame shame AAP government' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', terming the process a 'mockery of democracy'. However, the AAP councillors, along with the Mayor and MLAs, continued with the proceedings and passed the proposals amid the ruckus. Later, BJP and Congress leaders condemned the functioning of the civic body, accusing the mayor and AAP legislators of sidelining elected councillors from the Opposition parties. BJP's district president Rajnish Dhiman said the manner in which the general house meeting was conducted was undemocratic. 'If all decisions are to be taken solely by the mayor and ruling party MLAs, what is the point of calling a house meeting?' he questioned. Dhiman also criticised the 'paperless budget' approach, stating that sending hundreds of agenda items to councillors on WhatsApp late at night and expecting a discussion early next morning was unacceptable. 'The budget was passed without any proper debate or input from opposition members. This is not how a democratic institution should function,' he added. BJP's leader of Opposition Poonam Ratra and deputy leader Rohit Sikka echoed similar sentiments. They alleged that the mayor had shown no interest in allowing discussion or suggestions from councillors. 'The way the budget was pushed through shows that development is not a priority. The mayor is only interested in pleasing her party MLAs,' Ratra said. Sikka added that the BJP would now hit the streets to protest and raise awareness among citizens about how opposition councillors' work was being stalled deliberately. Leaders from the Shiromani Akali Dal, BJP and Congress also held a joint media briefing outside the venue soon after the session ended. They alleged corruption in the ongoing streetlight project worth crores, claiming that 8,500 LED lights were being allocated unfairly. 'AAP workers are getting lights even in places where they are not needed, while our wards are left in the dark,' a leader alleged. Congress leader Shyam Sunder Malhotra criticised the administration for 'not sending printed copies of the agenda despite repeated requests'. 'This is against the rules. Councillors have the right to study the proposals in advance. We are not here for politics but for development. We will move court. The court will cancel the agendas passed by AAP leaders amid favoritism ahead of the Ludhiana West constituency bypoll,' he said. Meanwhile, MC officials stated that the general house approved regularisation of nearly 800 overage employees, including gardeners, beldars and drivers. They also highlighted implementation of 'e-Nigam' — a digital governance initiative under which all future general house and F&CC meetings would go paperless, similar to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Officials said the agenda had been shared digitally through WhatsApp as part of this initiative. In another key resolution, the house approved the takeover of several areas under the LIT scheme for maintenance, including Maharishi Valmiki Nagar, Rajguru Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (SBS Nagar), Bharat Nagar Extension, Sant Ishar Singh Nagar and Sukhdev Enclave. Residents of these localities have long been demanding civic services, and the decision is expected to bring them major relief. Present during the meeting were AAP MLAs Daljit Singh Bhola Grewal, Madan Lal Bagga, Ashok Prashar Pappi, Kulwant Singh Sidhu, Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina, senior deputy mayor Rakesh Prashar, deputy mayor Prince Johar, MC additional commissioner Paramdeep Singh, joint commissioners Ankur Mahindroo, Abhishek Sharma, Vineet Kumar and zonal commissioners Gurpal Singh, Neeraj Jain and Jasdev Singh Sekhon among others.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MC to go completely paperless under e-Nigam initiative
Ludhiana: After the MC house meeting, officials delivered a presentation on the e-Nigam initiative , a project for the civic body to go paperless. Under the initiative, special login IDs will be created for councillors. Officials said that in future, resolutions would be sent online. All councillors would receive tablets and digital meetings would be held on the lines of the Punjab commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said that they had the software ready but implementation would take another month as they would start training councillors. He said that the initiative would help them save paper and benefit the environment. Under the e-Nigam initiative, which promotes digitalisation, meetings of the MC general house and the Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) would go paperless. An online record will be maintained for future resolutions passedThe MC general house approved resolutions for regularisation of around 800 overage employees and approximately 470 beldars, gardeners and drivers, during the meeting on Friday. Mayor Inderjit Kaur said that the longstanding demand of overage employees, beldars, gardeners, and drivers has been approved. Resolutions for regularisation of their jobs have been approved by the general house and will now be sent to the local bodies department for further MC general house also approved the resolution for taking over different LIT scheme areas for maintenance, including Maharishi Valmiki Nagar, Rajguru Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (SBS) Nagar, Bharat Nagar Extension, Sant Ishar Singh Nagar, and Sukhdev Enclave. This will provide major relief to residents of these areas. However, two conditions have been imposed for the transfer. First, a joint survey will be conducted in the colonies to check existing infrastructure and identify what else needs to be done. Second, any court case or pending litigation will be dealt with at the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) have been approved for providing jobs to the next of kin of deceased employees on compassionate grounds. A number of other resolutions regarding promotion and welfare of employees have been approved by the general of the MC employees' unions felicitated mayor Inderjit Kaur, senior deputy mayor Rakesh Prashar, deputy mayor Prince Johar, and city MLAs for these historic councillors of all political parties to work together for the betterment of the city, mayor Inderjit Kaur said that their focus is on sustainable development. Moving forward with this agenda, e-Nigam has been implemented, and meetings of the general house will go paperless. Gradually, e-office will also be implemented in civic offices to ensure transparency and efficiency, she said. MSID:: 121030936 413 |
