*Chandigarh Mayor urges UT Administrator for urgent financial support to sustain essential services in city*
*Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla meets Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria*
*Chandigarh, February 4:-*
Chandigarh Mayor, Mrs. Harpreet Kaur Babla today met Sh. Gulab Chand Kataria and raised various key issues pertaining to the larger public interest and urged for strengthening the financial position of MC Chandigarh as well as welfare of its employees.
The Mayor briefed the Administrator that the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) has been playing a crucial role in maintaining and developing the city’s infrastructure, ensuring sanitation, and providing essential public services on a no-profit, no-loss basis. However, despite its relentless efforts, the Corporation is facing severe financial crunch, hampering its ability to continue these vital functions.
She further stated that with the establishment of MCC, several departments of the Chandigarh Administration, including the Engineering Department, Medical Officer of Health, and Fire & Emergency Wing, were transferred to its jurisdiction. Additionally, the staff and responsibilities of the Notified Area Committee, Manimajra, also came under MCC’s ambit. The Engineering Department itself comprises Public Health, B&R, Horticulture, and the Electrical Wing.
MCC’s Responsibilities and Financial Challenges
MCC remains highly dependent on grants-in-aid from the Chandigarh Administration.
She briefed that while MCC generate some revenue through property tax and water bills, these funds are insufficient to cover the increasing costs of maintaining civic amenities in the city.
The Mayor raised some key issues with the Administrator including:
• Road Infrastructure: MCC maintains 2,000 km of roads, including major and internal roads, as well as parking lots. 270 km of roads are constructed or repaired annually to ensure smooth traffic movement, yet no direct revenue is generated from this work.
• Green Spaces & Beautification: The Corporation maintains 1,800 neighborhood parks, over 100 large parks, and green belts, along with 1.75 lakh trees and bushes. Additionally, open-air gyms have been set up in most parks to promote public health—all at MCC’s expense, without any income in return.
• Sanitation & Animal Welfare: MCC is responsible for garbage collection, segregation, processing, and sterilization of stray animals. It also manages cattle shelters and fodder supply for stray cows, incurring substantial costs.
• Street Lighting & Electricity Repairs: MCC bears the full cost of maintaining street lights on key roads (V-3, V-4, V-5, and V-6) without any financial assistance from the Chandigarh Administration.
Funding Shortfall & Cost-Cutting Measures
Despite its expanding responsibilities, MCC has received only ₹560 crore in grant-in-aid for the 2024-25 financial year, against a demand of ₹1,651.75 crore as per the 4th Delhi Finance Commission recommendations. In the past five years, grants have increased at an average rate of only 4.53%, while annual expenses have grown by 10%.
The Mayor said that in response to the financial crisis, MCC has implemented several cost-cutting measures, including:
• Reducing outsourcing staff (200 positions removed).
• Minimizing vehicle expenses for officers/officials.
• Cutting costs in events like the Chrysanthemum Show 2024.
• Reducing expenses for General House meetings by 50%.
• Voluntary surrender of 50% entertainment expenses by senior officers.
Additionally, MCC has successfully recovered ₹14.15 crore from defaulters of water tariffs, property tax, and vendor charges, even canceling 6,841 vendor sites due to non-payment. However, major property tax defaulters include government departments, with many cases stuck in litigation.
She urged for urgent additional grant of ₹170 crore to meet salary, pension, electricity bills, fuel costs, and other essential expenditures for February and March 2025. She requested the Administrator for issuing necessary directions to the Chandigarh Administration to release these funds to ensure the smooth functioning of civic services.
Furthermore, She appealed for quarterly release of grants-in-aid in the 2025-26 financial year, instead of monthly disbursements, to enable better financial planning and efficient management of resources.
She said that the Municipal Corporation remains committed to serving Chandigarh’s residents with world-class civic amenities and urged the Chandigarh Administration to provide the necessary financial support for the city’s continued growth and development.
The Mayor said that the Administrator assured full support from the Chandigarh Administration and directed the concerned officers to convene a urgent meeting shortly to discuss financial status of MC Chandigarh in detail.
