New amendments elevate JMC to Executive Decision-Making Body level: Jammu Mayor

Many decisions taken in Finance and Planning Committee meeting

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Mayor Jammu, Rajinder Sharma on Saturday cleared that as per new amendments Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has ceased to be a department but has been elevated to the level of Executive Decision Making Body.
“Under Section 40 Sub Section III of JMC Act all powers of establishment, approval of budget, action plans, staffing matters, housing , relief, approval of contracts above Rs. 1 crore etc are vested with the Executive Committee with Mayor at the helm,” Sharma said adding: “Whatever the Executive Committee approves has to be implemented and adopted by the employees of JMC.”
The Mayor also said that if some employee challenges some order of the Executive Committee that shall simply be a challenge to the authority of JMC as the same has been enshrined in JMC Act 2000.
The Mayor was chairing Finance and Planning Committee meeting of JMC.
For bringing transparency and accountability in JMC, the Mayor constituted a three member Committee with Joint Commissioner Works, Joint Commissioner Administration and Joint Commissioner Enforcement and Revenue as its members.
He said that the empanelled agencies will submit the panel of NGO/contractual employees needed by JMC and final selection from this panel shall be made by this three member Committee.
“This is a big step in itself to bring transparency and accountability in the Urban Local Body,” the Mayor said.
The meeting took a strict note of the hue and cry raised by the opposition Councillors of JMC regarding 40 backdoor appointments in the Urban Local Body and cleared that all such allegations were baseless.JMC has not appointed any body. It has just outsourced manpower from contractors which are need based and these can be disenguaged any time without notice. Moreover majority of these were outsourced for managing Panjtirthi parking which is being auctioned now. All of them will be disengaged.
“Those who raised hue and cry, are members of that Committee,” the Mayor said adding: “How can a member of a committee be ignorant of what he had approved.
Joint Commissioner Administration particularly read out orders passed by previous Finance and planning committee meetings.
It was also discussed in the meeting that local contractors be given priority for economy vibrancy in Jammu and Kashmir to prevent economy drain.
Among other things that came under discussion were that tenders for repair of water coolers in the city should be opened soon so that people may have cold drinking in coming summers.
On lighting issue it was noted that there is shortage of some phase wire and connectors which as per contract is complete but is required over and above and it was decided that PDD should immediately procure these items for JMC so that the problem is solved.
It was noted that whooping funds worth Rs. 107 crore were released in the year 2022 while in 2018 funds to the tune of Rs. 1.43 cr and in 2019 funds worth Rs. 1.63 cr were releases while in 2020 it was Rs. 8 cr and in 2021, it was Rs. 38 crore.
The Mayor said what used to be spent in 75 Wards is now spent on a single Ward and this is the benefit of a Corporation.
This time funds for the ongoing works have reached accounts of JMC well in time while otherwise the same used to reach in June-July months, tenders were floated in August-September, opened in October and it remained very hard to do works in remaining months of November-December.
“Due to this delay only Rs. 1.5-3 crore used to be spent. All this has been streamlined now due to which Rs. 107 crore has been spent so far while for next year our target is to spend Rs. 150 crore on development works in the city,” Mayor Rajinder Sharma continued.
He also said that this time JMC has uploaded its estimates for getting approval and in the first week of June works shall be started and JMC shall have 10 months for work which is a change and new empowerment of Corporation.