Proposal to reorganise Jammu Municipal Corp approved; to get Rs 3 cr grant

The Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of Sinha approved the proposal of housing and urban development department, officials said

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday approved a proposal to reorganise the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) to make the civic body more efficient and focused in its operations, officials said.

The Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of Sinha approved the proposal of housing and urban development department, they said.

The council also approved an additional financial grant of Rs 3.26 crore per annum for optimal functioning of the JMC.

The decision has been taken in consideration of the fact that JMC has grown from an initial number of 23 wards covering an area of 32 square kilometres to 71 wards spread over 112 square kilometres, without any corresponding increase in its manpower or infrastructure, the officials said.

Currently, against the total sanctioned strength of 2,623 posts, 1,540 employees are regular staff, whereas 1,741 workers have been outsourced with additional 724 on casual and contractual arrangement. The annual expenditure incurred by JMC on this account is Rs 106.81 crore, they said.

Post reorganisation, the corporation will have dedicated wings for administration, revenue, health & sanitation, solid waste management, building, accounts & planning, legal, veterinary, transport, informatics, engineering, floriculture and miscellaneous activities, they added.

Accordingly, some positions will be outsourced with the twin objective of hiring the staff as per requirement without much stress on the resources and ensuring association of technical experts with the Corporation.

Further, to provide fillip to its revenue generation towards establishing a self-sustainable model of local governance, JMC will also be able to levy property tax; revise building permission fee; revise rent in respect of shops, open spaces and buildings; rationalize existing fleet and vehicles; auction materials; levy charges in respect of water filling; collect tower fee; enhance compounding fee in respect of impounded items and goods, among others.