Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 18

Though SAD and BJP leaders have been raising questions over the Municipal Corporation’s plan to hire a private firm for the recovery of water supply and sewer charges in the city, a committee led by Senior Deputy Mayor Sham Sundar Malhotra has given nod to float tenders to invite interested firms for the task.

Malhotra said: “We have made the final decision in today’s meeting that a firm will be hired to conduct the recovery of pending water supply and sewer charges from users. MC officials have been asked to float the tenders for the same.”

He said: “The successful firm will have to conduct the recovery of Rs 35 crore without getting any commission. After recovering Rs 35 crore, the firm will start getting 15 per cent commission on the further recovered amount. If it recovers less than Rs 90 crore, 10 per cent penalty would be imposed, as per the proposal.”

The MC is yet to recover over Rs 200 crore from those people who have not deposited their water supply and sewer charges, as per sources.

Leader of Opposition in the MC House Harbhajan Singh Dang said: “We are against the MC’s proposal to hire a private firm for recovery. We will meet Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu and request him to stop the process to float tenders to hire any firm for the task. The MC’s move is totally wrong.”

BJP leaders had earlier opposed the MC’s plan of hiring a private firm for the recovery. BJP Ludhiana president Pushpendra Singhal had stated that if a private firm was deployed for the task, such a step of the MC would create a ‘mafia raj’ in the city. Moreover, people were already facing financial problems due to the pandemic, he had stated.

Besides, a Congress leader, Parminder Mehta, has also raised questions over the MC’s plan. Mehta said: “Ward-level committees should be formed and the recovery drive must be conducted under the guidance of councillors of all 95 wards. The responsibility of the councillors from all 95 wards must be fixed. If any private firm is deployed, there would be no transparency in its working.”