Fresh row as Chandigarh mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor seeks House meet on January 24, MC secy turns it down

In a fresh controversy ahead of the January 30 mayoral elections, Chandigarh mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor on Wednesday moved a request to MC secretary Gurinder Singh Sodhi to convene a General House meeting on January 24, which the latter turned down promptly citing the MC Act.

This comes in the backdrop of the recent Punjab and Haryana high court ruling in the mayor’s favour, which allowed his term to continue till January 29, as a result of which, the UT had to fix a new date for mayoral polls. It was originally set to be held on January 24.

Dhalor had sought a House meeting on January 24, stating that some revenue-related agendas need to be deliberated upon.

But the MC secretary denied the request, citing provisions of the MC Act, as per which, the first meeting of every calendar year should be an election meeting.

Dhalor, however, alleged that this rule was overlooked while convening a meeting on January 9, 2024, when BJP mayor Anup Gupta was in office.

“Last year, Gupta was allowed to hold a House meeting in January, but my request has been turned down even when crucial revenue-related agendas are on hold for discussion and approval. Looking at the financial condition of MC, a meeting should have been convened so that proposed agendas can be implemented,” said Dhalor.

Sodhi defended his action, stating, “As per the MC Act, the first meeting of every calendar year has to be an election meeting. Also, since the mayoral elections have been scheduled for January 30, it is now the prerogative of the new mayor to convene the House meeting. A special meeting can be called by the current mayor, but only with a specific agenda, which Dhalor has not submitted.”

Sodhi further clarified that Gupta’s meeting on January 9, 2024, was not a fresh one but a rescheduled session. “Anup Gupta had initially called the meeting on December 27, 2023, which was postponed to January 9, 2024. No new meeting was called in January after the election notification was issued and it was just a postponed meeting,” he said.

A few revenue-related agendas, including a policy to charge advertising fees from private firms on displaying advertisements on city roundabouts, operation and maintenance of community centres and others, are pending for approval. But these are likely to be delayed as after the mayoral elections, the MC will first hold a budget meeting, and a General House meeting can be called only in February or March.