Finally, councillors, officials to pay for family sojourn

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 16

Three months after the councillors' controversial study tour, the Municipal Corporation has finally decided that it will not bear the expenditure incurred on visiting places only for leisure.
The expenses incurred on the visit of councillors, officials and their family members to places where no project was studied will now be recovered from the councillors and officials.
Confirming the development, MC Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh said he had asked for a report from MC officials on the places which were visited only for leisure and not for studying any project for the city. The MC would not bear the expenditure incurred on the visit to these places. The councillors and officials would have to pay from their pocket, he assured.
“In a day or two, the MC staff will compile the report and it will be placed before the MC House,” he said.
MC councillors, along with their family members and officials, had reached Chennai on September 1 evening. On September 3, they left for Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh in eight Innova taxis which had no relevance to the study tour. Similarly, on September 5, the group left for Havelock Island, which has no civic body. On Havelock Island, the group visited several beaches and enjoyed rides as well. Finally, on September 9, the group reached back Chandigarh.
On this tour, BJP councillor Arun Sood took four family members — his wife, two children and a niece.
BJP councillor Asha Jaiswal took her daughter and also the daughter of BJP’s Mahila Morcha president. Congress councillor Sheela Devi took her daughter while Congress councillors Satish Kainth, Gurbax Rawat and Poonam Sharma, BJP councillor Gurcharan Das Kala, nominated councillors MP Kohli and Babu Lal took their spouses.

SAD councillor died after study tour

SAD councillor Malkiat Singh, who was representing Ward No. 10, consisting of Sectors 41 and 42, Attawa and Butrela village, had died after the study tour. During the tour, he had complained of stomach ache aftr which he was admitted to a hospital in Port Blair. Later, he was admitted to AIIMS, Delhi, where he died on October 6.