Ghaziabad MC members warn of protest over development work

Opposition members in the Ghaziabad Municipal Council on Tuesday warned of a protest outside its office here from March 6 if a meeting was not convened to speed up development work and an inquiry held into corruption charges.

Councillors Zakir Ali Saifi, Anand Chaudhary and Mohammad Kallan, who belong to the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party told the media here that newly elected Mayor Asha Sharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party had not initiated action against the corrupt activities she promised to expose during campaigning for the post.

After winning the top post, they claimed, she illegally announced allocation of Rs 50 lakh to each ward which was beyond her powers and without the approval of the MC board.

Raising other issues, they said if action was not taken, opposition councillors will be forced to call a strike from March 6, for which the district administration would be responsible.

Sharma said: "A survey team for Smart City project is camping here till February 28. All MC officers and councillors are engaged in their respective wards and areas and hence no board meeting could be convened. After March 6, a meeting will be convened."

As for Rs 50 lakh for each ward, she said she had asked the councillors to submit estimates on development work so that funds could be transferred immediately after the next board meeting. "But they are playing politics on the short-cut method to save time," she said.

--IANS

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