Pruning Machine Purchase: Punjab local bodies dept issues notice to mayor on causing loss to state exchequer

Kulwant Singh 

THE PUNJAB Local Bodies Department has begun proceedings to remove Mohali Mayor and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Kulwant Singh as councillor for “purchasing a tree pruning machine at inflated prices and causing a loss to the state exchequer”.

Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has issued a show cause notice to Kulwant Singh as to why he should not be removed as councillor for causing loss to the exchequer. Besides, Sidhu has also ordered that former municipal commissioner (MC) Rajesh Dhiman, ACE Mohinderpal and Surinder Goyal be chage-sheeted. Former Executive Engineer Naresh Batta and former Deputy Controller, Finance and Accounts, Vinayak Kumar have been placed under suspension. Sidhu has also recommended the suspension of Dhiman to the government.

Since there is no provision to remove a mayor in the Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the department has initiated proceedings under Section 36 of the Act that provides for the removal of a councillor. The section says: “The government may by notification remove any councillor, other than an associate councillor, if in its opinion, has flagrantly abused his position as a councillor or has through negligence or misconduct been responsible for the loss or misapplication of any money or property of the Corporation.”

“We cannot remove him as mayor but he can be removed as a councillor as per the Act. The vigilance cell of the local government conducted a probe that has indicted the mayor. While in India, a tree pruning machine is available for Rs 28 lakh, the MC, under his leadership, passed a resolution to purchase it for a whopping Rs 1.78 crore. This is a loss to the state exchequer. We will not tolerate this kind of corruption. Though we have given him time to give his side of the story, there seems to be no excuse for him to choose an expensive machine over a much cheaper version,” Sidhu told Chandigarh Newsline.

A department functionary said inquiry revealed that while Dhiman had cleared the file, the previous commissioner, Uma Shankar, had refused to clear it. He sat on it for six months and was finally transferred out. Mayor Kulwant Singh said he would file a defamation case against the person, who had issued the press release saying the mayor was suspended due to irregularities in the purchase of a pruning machine. The press release was issued by Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s office. He added that he would head the House meeting on Friday.

When asked that in the revised communique, the department had said that a show-cause notice had been issued to him, Kulwant said he would submit a reply to his show cause notice. “There are no irregularities in buying the machine. We had adopted the procedure and then purchased it. It is clear that some people want to remove me on frivolous grounds,” he said.

Interestingly, while Kulwant is considered close to an aide of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, an Akali leader called the action “an attempt of the Congress-led government to first make the Mohali MC headless and then take its control”. He added that the Congress was putting pressure on Kulwant and other Akali councillors to join the ruling party which they had refused and hence the action.

The Congress had recently won elections to three municipal corporations – Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala. The Ludhiana MC will go to polls in February. The Mohali mayor’s term expires in 2020. An Akali leader said they had anticipated that the Congress would prevail upon their councillors to ensure that they attained majority and then stake claim to the Mohali MC also.

SAD and BJP will hold a meeting on Friday to devise a strategy to run the House. Senior Deputy Mayor Rishab Jain, a Congress councillor, will head the meeting. Kulwant has been a party hopper. A coloniser and hence money bags, he took over as the first mayor of Mohali on August 31, 2015, following a bitter fight with the then SAD’s Mohali Halka in-charge, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia. Kulwant had rebelled against Ramoowalia and floated his own group, Azad Group. Out of 50 councillors, 11 members of the Azad Group, including Kulwant, won the election.

The SAD-BJP alliance, which had 23 councillors in the House, failed to get its mayor. Kulwant, with the support of 14 Congress, two Independents and of course, his own 11-member Azad Group, became mayor. In August 2016, he rejoined SAD with his group. At present, the SAD-BJP combine has 34 councillors, Congress 14 and Independents two.

Mohali MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu said they were watching the situation. But would they stake claim to the mayor’s post? He said no as they did not have the numbers.

Goof up

In a goof-up, Sidhu issued a press release stating he had put Kulwant under suspension only for the department to withdraw the earlier statement and issue a fresh one saying the mayor had been issued a show cause notice. The department realised the faux pas after enquiries from the media that a mayor was an elected representative and could not be suspended.