Of 150 projects approved by House, 130 delayed for various reasons, primarily fund crunch Ramkrishan Upadhyay Chandigarh, June 13 Moudgil blames it on former mayors Upgrade of a sewage treatment plant, construction of connecting passages in corridors at Sector 17 and refurbishment of public toilets are some of the 130 projects of the Municipal Corporation which are awaiting completion for over a year and a half. Sources said of the 150 works approved by the general house of the MC, a majority were pending for various reasons. While some of the projects had been delayed for lack of clearance of drawings from the Architecture Department, many had been delayed for want of funds. The MC general house held 11 meetings last year. Over 150 works of various types, including recarpeting of roads, were passed at the meetings. The project for replacement of street lights with LED lights was approved in the first meeting on January 24, 2017, but the project is yet to be completed. While 40,000 lights have been replaced, 9,000 lights at dark spots and gardens are yet to be replaced. The decision to shift the upgrade work of the sewage plant under the Smart City project was taken at the same meeting, but work on it is yet to start. Likewise, another project for dismantling and reconstruction of connecting passages of corridors at Sector 17 has been approved, but the work is yet to start. Over 70 projects regarding recarpeting of roads are also lying pending. The MC had fixed May 30, 2018, as the deadline for the completion of the works relating to recarpeting of roads, but the fund crunch has delayed the project. The general house had passed the agenda for the purchase of new vehicles for the Fire Department, but the process is yet to begin. Devinder Singh Babla, Leader of the Opposition in the MC, alleged that it was the failure of the BJP government that development works in the city had come to a standstill. He said he would raise the issue in the next House meeting. Davesh Moudgil, Mayor, said only former mayors could explain the delay in the projects approved during their tenure. He said he had taken over the charge on January, 9, 2018, and had been working hard to get the required funds for the MC from all sources. He said he would make sure that development was not affected due to a shortage of funds.Davesh Moudgil, Mayor, said only former mayors could explain the delay in the projects approved during their tenure. He said he had taken over the charge on January, 9, 2018, and had been working hard to get the required funds for the Municipal Corporation from all sources. He said he would make sure that the development of the City Beautiful was not affected due to a shortage of funds.

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