AMRITSAR; The tussle between the district administration and elected representatives of the municipal corporation has come out in the open with Mayor Om Parkash Soni openly accusing the Deputy Commissioner of meting out shabby and insulting treatment to him and his councilors.

Having been slighted time and again by senior civil and police officials the Mayor has finally not only shot off letters to the Chief Secretary and the DGP complaining about the uncooperative and arrogant attitude of Deputy Commissioner Sarbjit Singh and SSP Sanjiv Gupta but also sought an audience with the Governor

Soni has also brought the matter to the notice of PPCC (I) President Beant Singh who was here on August 15

The Mayor aired his resentment over the indifferent attitude of the power drunk officials towards the elected corporates at a meeting with newsmen at his residence here Aug.16. He cited several instances wherein he was deliberately ignored and insulted by senior officials of the administration.

Charging the Deputy Commissioner with flouting the set conventions on important civic occasions or visits of dignitaries Soni alleged civil officials were trying to overshadow elected members of the corporation

Soni alleged he was not even informed about the farewell visit of former Governor OP.Malhotra to the city let alone invited to receive him When he reached the airport the Deputy did care to introduce the newly elected Mayor to the Governor The same behaviour the Mayor said was repeated by the administration during the first visit of the new Governor Surendra Nath He was not only kept in the dark about the dignitary’s itinerary but also not allowed to receive him along with the councilors.

Soni said it was Congress (I) leader R.L.Bhatia who formally introduced him to the Governor at the Jallianwala Bagh.

Again on Independence Day the Mayor said the authorities did not ask him to receive the chief guest T.S.Broca Adviser to the Governor. In a violation of the seating protocol he was made to sit among junior officers far away from the dignitary.

This was not all. The SSP who was supervising security arrangements directed that the Mayor’s official car should be taken away from the VHP parking lot where the vehicles of SP and DSP rank officers were already parked.

Obviously the bureaucracy is not willing to lose its unlimited powers and is bent upon sidelining the elected representatives the Mayor remarked.

If this is the treatment being meted out to the councilors what can we expect from the administration? The Mayor asked

Soni charged the Deputy Commissioner with getting development works implemented in the city as per his personal priorities rather than according to the needs of the people.

In his letter to the Chief Secretary Soni has asked about the Position of the Mayor and other councilors in protocol. Soni has urged the Chief Secretary that the district administration should be directed to show due respect and courtesy to the elected members of the corporation The Mayor charged that the Amritsar police chief had denied him proper security despite several representations. Despite being the city father he had been provided with only five security guards and no escort vehicle where as many city BJP leaders were having escort vehicles.

Soni further charged that he was not granted an appointment with DGP D.S.Mangat when he was in the city recently. The district police chief had also turned down the Mayor’s plea for more force with the enforcement staff for clearing encroachments.

Referring to the working of the corporation the Mayor said the first priority was to take the corporation out of the red and increase its income Campaign had been launched to check leakages and recover the arrears. The income of the civic body had gone up by Rs.50 lakh in the past one and a half months he claimed.

Soni said the recovery of electricity bills had doubled. As many as 88 cases of theft of power and 112 cases of stopped meters were detected by special flying squads. The city police owed electricity arrears of Rs.20 lakh and the matter had been brought to the notice of the DGP.

Admitting that conditions in the city were far from satisfactory the Mayor hoped that with an increase in the income the situation would take a turn for the better. Action had been initiated against corrupt and inefficient officials including a Superintending Engineer.

Soni said he would appeal to the Governor to nominate councilors on the District Planning Board So that funds were properly utilized.

Article extracted from this publication >> August 23, 1991