The general house meeting of Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC), on Friday witnessed high drama, political manoeuvring and some unexpected decisions. While the ruling side pushed through a key resolution on women’s empowerment, a controversial proposal related to the city’s sanitation system had to be withdrawn by the Mayor after strong resistance. For the first time, a proposal brought by the ruling side failed to pass due to the Opposition from its own corporators. Mayor Jagat Bahadur Singh said the decision to withdraw the proposal was taken after members of his own party raised objections and expressed reservations. With the proposal withdrawn, existing sanitation contracts have been extended for three months. The Mayor stated that strict action would be taken in case of irregularities, including provision of double penalty on contractors if lapses are found.

 

The House also witnessed heated scenes over a resolution supporting Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. The ruling party termed the legislation a significant step towards women empowerment. During the discussion, BJP Corporator Lavleen Anand criticised the Congress for opposing the Bill and said it would be brought again in the Upper House in future. Her remarks triggered protests from the Opposition benches. Congress corporators displayed placards against the Central Government and raised slogans, leading to noisy scenes in the House. Amid the commotion, the Chair proceeded to pass the proposal. The continued disruptions forced the proceedings to be adjourned indefinitely, bringing the meeting to an abrupt end. Most heated debate of the meeting centered around proposal no. 18, linked to sanitation contracts. The Opposition to this proposal was not limited to Congress members. Even some corporators from ruling side, including Mahesh Rajput and Atul Dani, strongly opposed it.

 

They argued that the city’s sanitation system is already under strain and handing over more control to contractors could worsen the situation. Corporators raised concerns over alleged arbitrariness by contractors and questioned the effectiveness of the existing arrangements. As the opposition intensified, Mayor Jagat Bahadur Singh announced withdrawal of the proposal. He said some corporators from his own side were not satisfied with it and the decision was taken keeping in mind their concerns as well as the larger public interest. The House also took up a resolution in support of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. The BJP corporators termed it as a historic step towards empowering women in governance. Congress corporators, however, raised objections, arguing that the move was premature without clarity on census and delimitation. The debate soon turned noisy, with slogan sh outing and disruptions.

 

Despite the protests, the resolution was passed by majority. The meeting also highlighted weak attendance of Congress corporators. Out of 29 members in the House, only a handful were present during the meeting. In contrast, the ruling side maintained near full attendance. It was observed as a setback for Congress, especially on an issue where the party was strongly opposing the proposal. Lack of numbers in the House diluted its ability to mount an effective challenge, raising questions about internal coordination and strategy. During the meeting, Leader of Opposition Amrish Mishra said they had been opposing the proposal for over a year, calling it anti-people. He warned that its passage would have severely affected sanitation system. Congress corporator Ayodhya Tiwari alleged that contractors were already benefiting and the proposal would have led to misuse of public funds. House witnesses high drama, noisy scenes, proposal on sanitation withdrawn.