JAIPUR: Municipal corporation elections are over, but councillors are yet to get a designated office to start functioning in their wards.
According to a rule, Jaipur Municipal Corporation – Greater and Heritage — will provide offices to councillors but due to lack of space it has become increasingly difficult for them. Last session when there were 90 councillors, 60 had offices and rest were given rental amount.
Karan Sharma, councillor of ward 134 in JMC Greater said that without offices the distance between the public and councillor has increased. He explained, “We are not able to meet the public at a definite place or keep a track on sanitation workers. It is not possible for an individual councillor to pay Rs 15,000 from his pocket for an office.”
When asked about the problems faced by councillors, Munesh Gurjar, mayor of JMC Heritage, said “Functioning offices have been opened after necessary renovation. We are looking for JMC land where we don’t have offices so that we can construct them. In cases where we have found land belonging to some other government department we have written to the department concerned to let us open the offices,” said Gurjar.
She said they are also planning to give rental allowance to councillors for offices in theri wards after board meeting.
Similar plan is being made in JMC Greater. Deputy mayor of JMC Greater, Puneet Karnawat, said that they are planning to construct a precasted office for councillors that will be ready in 10 days. “We have asked officials to prepare a plan for constructing new offices where old offices are not available. Also, most of the former councillors’ offices are being used for some other work – Indira Rasoi, Adhaar Card centre etc. as the board wasn’t formed. Now we are planning to give them back to councillors,” assured Karnawat.