Red beacons to mayors won’t solve urban problems: Capt
Monday, 18/01/2016
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
CHANDIGARH: Taking a dig at Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal over allowing free use of red beacon to mayors, state Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday said the CM believed it would solve all urban problems.
“More than red beacon atop their vehicles, the mayors need money for their municipal corporations and councils, so that they can get on with development work that is at a standstill for the past nine years,” said Amarinder, regretting that “the mayors also seem to be happy at getting the lollipop”.
The former chief minister said Punjab’s cities were crying for development and the civic bodies starved of funds.
“Except for the token announcement that the principal secretary of finance has been asked to transfer `422 crore to the local bodies at the earliest, the state government seems to have neither any intent nor any money to offer to the local bodies for the development of the urban areas,” Amarinder added.
The Congress leader said “Badal has survived for 10 years as CM on tokenism and false assurances”.
“The urban areas have suffered as much as the rural areas, in terms of the lack of development in the past nine years. The roads, lanes and by-lanes have not be repaired and recarpeted, the water supply pipes leak, and the sewers are choked,” he said, adding: “Sanitation workers haven’t been hired for years and there’s filth and sleaze all over.”
