‘Headless’ Nawanshahr council in civic mess
Nawanshahr — officially referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar — finds itself in a civic quagmire. Fed up with the ever deteriorating condition of roads and no supply of potable drinking water in many areas, residents rue inaction at the currently ‘headless’ Municipal Council in Nawanshahr.
They said the situation was exacerbated by the political chaos and endless counter-allegations among municipal councillors. With leaders engaging in petty squabbles, the issues of the common man take a hit.
Urbanisation led to new colonies in many areas. The MC’s supply of drinking water has not reached there yet. Meanwhile, the condition of roads is such that earlier this month, traders having establishements on the Railway Road went to the DC office to hand him keys to their shops, while claiming that they could not operate with roads in such dire conditions. Nawanshahr MLA Nachattar Pal also formally took up the issue of the Railway Road in the Assembly on March 28 this year.
Social activist Ashwani Joshi said, “The city’’s infrastructure has hit the rock bottom in the past few years, with potable drinking water supply unavailable to many and roads riddled with life-threatening potholes, making commuting a hazardous task. The residents of Nawanshahr are fed up with the current state of affairs and demand change. It’s time for councillors to take responsibility for their failures and resign. This would pave the way for young, intellectual leaders to take over the reins of the town.”
College Colony resident Kulwinder Singla said, “I have been living here since 2016 and it is yet to get any pipeline system or water supply access from the district administration or the Municipal Council. All the homes in the area have borewells or submersible pumps. The issue has been take up several times. The officials evade the issue by saying tenders had been invited for the works.”
Singla added, “The condition of roads is even worse. The Phillaur Road, Rahon to Nawanshahr Road, Chandigarh Road and most of all the Railway Road are riddled with potholes.”
Harkiran Singh Khara, a resident of Khara Colony, said, “Even as pipelines have been laid in our colony, the civic body is yet to start the water supply. The residents have to make do with borewells or submersible pumps. In a majority of new colonies, water crisis is expected to worsen with the onset of summers. On the top of it, roads are in deplorable state. The Railway Road is worst affected.”
Sachin Diwan was removed from the post of president of the Nawanshahr Municipal Council in 2021. The vice-president of the civic body relinquished his term of one year and no election had been held even though the Director, Local Bodies, had passed orders in this regard in September 2022. Meanwhile, a series of meetings of the council were being convened by the Executive Officer (EO) of the Municipal Council. Earlier this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered that the EO is empowered only to conduct the administrative functions of the council and the proceedings embarked are required to be quashed.
Nawanshahr MLA Nachattar Pal said, “I recently took up the matter of Railway Road for the second time in the Assembly. It is in the dire straits for years It had started breaking months after being built in 2021. Rs 83 lakh was spent on it and following a vigilance enquiry, the contractor deposited Rs 16 lakh back with the council. Either elections be held or the government devises other means to get these works done because the public languishes due to the inordinate delay.”
Jalandhar