Visitors attend MC House meet

For the first time, the MC House meeting was open to the general public. Few visitors, who had taken prior permission from the MC, were allowed to witness the proceedings of House meeting which held at Zone A here on Saturday.

Kuldeep Singh Khaira, a resident, who had been asking for permission to witness House proceedings for more than one year, had warned the civic body that he would move the Punjab and Haryana high court if his demand was not met.

Khaira had written to city mayor Harchran Singh Gohalwaria to allow residents to witness the proceedings of the House as mentioned in the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976.

He said: “It was a great experience to see how the general public raised the issues. Some people were not allowed to attend the meeting. Permission should be given to all interested persons.”

Meanwhile, an official said the meeting hall was not spacious enough to accommodate public.

According to Section 62 (4) and subsection 5 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1976, every meeting shall be open to the public, unless a majority of the members present at the meeting decide that any inquiry or deliberations pending before the corporation shall be held in private.

Hartej Singh, secretary to mayor, said visitors could witness the House meeting after getting valid permission from MC.