Jammu Mayor announces panel over revenue of parking slots; experts say violation of JMC Act

JAMMU: Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) Mayor Rajinder Sharma on Wednesday announced formation of a committee to look into the revenue generated by parking slots, a move drawing criticism from the members of the standing committee who see it as a “violation of the JMC Act and an attempt to disempower them.”

Sharma, a senior member of BJP, was elected Mayor of the JMC in October following the resignation of his predecessor Chander Mohan Gupta.

“A committee has been set up to probe revenue generation of parking slots Out of 33 parking slots under smart city project, only five are fully operational and one partially. The contractor has generated Rs 25 lakh, while the corporation got only Rs 1 lakh which is a big loss to the exchequer,” the mayor said.

Sharma said the issue was discussed in the general house meeting recently and it was decided that “every penny will be accounted for”.

“The committee, composed of a technical expert and a retired chief accounts officer besides councilors, will submit its report within two weeks and subsequently appropriate action will be taken,” he said, stressing the need for transparency and accountability in the functioning of the corporation.

The members of the standing committee, however, raised concern over the formation of the committee by the JMC. “It is a clear violation of the JMC Act 2000, which does not allow setting up of any extra panel outside standing committees,” one of the members said. “This has been done to encroach upon the powers of the standing committees. If this is allowed, it will hamper the working of the standing committees,” reasoned the member requesting anonymity. (PTI)