First time in the history of India; sitting mayor approached NGT; seeked intervention to complete project
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
It might be the first time in the history of Indian local bodies department or any other department where a head or an elected representative, mayor has to approach National Green Tribunal to seek its intervention to complete a project, halted by state chief minister.
After the incumbent chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi joined his office in September last year, halted the much-hyped dairy shifting project, Patiala mayor has approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for its intervention.
The project, which was to be implemented by September 30 last year, has already missed several deadlines as it became victim to the power politics and tussle between Mayor Patiala Sanjeev Sharma Bittu and the state government.
In a late night drama in October last year, the CM directed the Patiala administration to halt the shifting till all necessary facilities were made available at the new site, after a number of alleged dairy owners approached him. The Patiala municipal corporation has already spent nearly Rs 19.33 crore for the development of the new site at Ablowal village, on the outskirts of Patiala city.
The mayor said a petition has been filed with the NGT urging it to set aside the verbal orders issued by the CM. “The report on the development of the project may be called, if required. Any local commissioner may be appointed to ascertain the actual and factual position of the diary project,” he said.
“The National Green Tribunal has already given directions to the state of Punjab not to discharge untreated dairy waste into the sewerage lines. Presently, dairy owners have no such facility of effluent treatment plant on their premises,” Bittu said.
First time in the history of India; sitting mayor approached NGT; seeked intervention to complete project. The presence of dairies within the city limits has been leading to frequent choking of sewers and resultant waterlogging in the Royal City. In the first phase, of the 257 dairies, 141 were to be shifted. Out of these 141, 84 dairy owners had applied and 66 were allotted the land.
Mayor Bittu added that “a delegation of municipal councilors under the command of MP Patiala Preneet kaur had appraised the CM Channi in October 2021 about the delay in shifting of dairies out the city, which is a dream project of Patialavies. He assured an immediate solution, but nothing has happened till date.”
Bittu further disclosed that “I being a first citizen of the city had wrote many letters to the commissioner MC Patiala, principal secretary local bodies, chief secretary GoP and requested them to not to halt this project. But no one paid any heed to our request. “
“It’s public money that is going to be wasted if the project is not shifted out of the city, at the earliest. MC Patiala has spent a huge amount of Rs 15 crore in cleaning the choked sewer line. On an average, MC Patiala gets 380 complaints of choked sewer lines, daily” added Bittu
March3,2022
