Expenses incurred by by-passing Standing panel not binding for NMC: Zalke
| Date :22-Oct-2020 |
Staff Reporter :
“THE expenses incurred by civic administration in last six months due to lockdown to contain coronavirus would not be sanctioned from funds of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) as the same were done by by-passing the Standing Committee by the then M u n i c i p a l Commissioner,” said Vijay Zalke, Chairperson, during presentation of civic budget. The announcement by Zalke indicates that ruling party in NMC has not yet forgotten the cold war between the administration and elected representatives. Though Mundhe is no longer at the helm of NMC, still ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking cue from by-laws has spelled out its intention of blocking any payments for unilateral decisions during COVID19 period.
Zalke, in his budget speech, said, “As per norms, prior permission of Standing Committee is necessary before floating tender. And during COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, a number of short term contracts were awarded by civic administration without nod from Standing Committee and thus as per Section 47 subsection (2) of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act, NMC would not be responsible for the same.”
Also sending signal to administration, Standing Committee chief read out various parts of Maharashtra Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act where financial powers, proprietary and norms are specified clearly. As per the specifications, financial powers of Municipal Commissioner is limited to above Rs 25 lakh but below Rs. 50 lakh but for the same the nod from Mayor is mandatory. Similarly, Mayor also cannot sanction public works more than Rs 2.50 crore in a financial year. At the same time, prior permission from Standing Committee would be necessary before floating any tender whose value is above Rs. 25 lakh. Over and above that Municipal Commissioner is duty bound to present details of any tenders of above Rs. five lakh and up to Rs 25 lakh within 15-days. And in case the above mentioned procedure is not followed then NMC would not be party to said work orders, which indirectly again brought to fore the running feud between Mundhe and the ruling establishment.
Sub-committee of Standing panel in IN AN effort to further tighten its grip on the administration and mainly financial arrangement, a sub-committee of Standing Committee is constituted to frame by-laws excluding powers vested as per MMC Rules -- Section 465 sub section 1 (H). The committee is granted two-month time to submit its report. The same would be tabled before general body meeting for approval. The announcement was made by Zalke when he took a dig at then Municipal Commissioner saying, “Though NMC saw rule of officers famed for administrative acumen, why then by-laws regarding financial powers and stipulations were not famed by civic administration failed to frame and got it approved from State Government.”