Punjab CM seeks framework to grant greater autonomy to local bodies

Chairing the first meeting of the Urban Renewal and Reforms Consultative Group, the Chief Minister underlined the need to ensure seamless coordination among various departments involved in any public project by providing more autonomy to ULBs.

He made it clear that paucity of funds would not be allowed to hamper development work.

During the meeting, Capt Amarinder directed immediate steps to further improve the fiscal and administrative component of all Urban Local Bodies to ensure that the government benefits reach the beneficiaries on the ground.

On the OTS, he asked Local Bodies Minister Brahm Mohindra to relook the existing scheme and suggest changes, if any, to make it more people friendly and result oriented.

He issued the direction in response to the concerns expressed by the Corporation Mayors.

Sounding a warning over project delays, Capt Amarinder asked the department to issue legal notices to private players lagging behind in completion of all public projects at the earliest.

He emphasized the need to develop an inbuilt mechanism to ensure timely completion and adherence to strict quality control parameters, to ensure optimal utilization of the funds allocated for the projects.

Expressing satisfaction at the progress under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) scheme, the Chief Minister said he would soon write to the central government to bring three more cities of Punjab in its ambit.

He also asked the department to come up with benchmarking of all major cities of Punjab, population-density wise, in comparison with other national cities of matching population, to ensure that a strong case is put before the Centre to allocate adequate funds for their overall development.

During the meeting, Patiala Mayor requested the Chief Minister to make OTS more effective and relevant to remove the discrepancies in the existing policy by taking all the stakeholders into confidence.

Amritsar Mayor also urged the local bodies authorities to ensure that all components of the OTS policy are complied with to make the buildings safer.

Earlier, Water Resources and Sewerage Board CEO Ajoy Sharma made a detailed presentation on the various ongoing infrastructural projects in urban areas.

Under the Amrut scheme, which has a total outlay of Rs 2766.63 crore, central government's share is Rs 1204.67 crore, while the rest is being provided by the state government.

Notably, the dedicated group is one of the nine such specialized teams constituted by the Chief Minister earlier this month to assess and elicit recommendations, if any, to enhance performance delivery of his government’s flagship programmes.

Capt Amarinder had taken control of improving the Urban Renewal and Reforms programme as well as the campaign against drugs.

The Chief Minister announced that the meeting of the Group would be held twice a month to ensure regular monitoring and corrective action, where needed.