Chandigarh, Feb 4 (PTI) Punjab Local Government Minister Sanjeev Arora on Wednesday said the state government has rolled out administrative, financial and structural reforms in ULBs to ensure time-bound decision-making, transparency and uninterrupted execution of development works.
Reviewing the functioning of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) here, Arora said prolonged pendency of resolutions and approvals had earlier impacted development and public service delivery.
The government has adopted a reform-driven, decentralised and accountability-based governance framework supported by daily monitoring, systemic restructuring and strict timelines, he said.
Arora said of the 1,100 long-pending resolutions, 900 have been cleared in the past three weeks, restoring momentum to urban infrastructure and civic works. The remaining cases are under process and expected to be disposed of shortly, he added.
To institutionalise the reforms, the e-Nigam software has been implemented for exclusive online processing of all ULB resolutions, marking a shift away from manual procedures and ensuring speed, transparency, traceability and accountability, the minister said.
He further announced the enhancement of financial approval powers to expedite project execution. Superintending Engineers can now accord approvals up to Rs 2 crore, up from Rs 1 crore, while Chief Engineers can approve projects up to Rs 10 crore, doubled from the earlier limit of Rs 5 crore.
Arora said two committees of chief engineers have been constituted in place of a single committee to eliminate bottlenecks and ensure zero pendency at the head office level.
He directed that all resolutions, vetting of proposals, technical sanctions and related approvals must be completed within 10 working days to reinforce officer accountability.
The minister said ULBs have been reorganised into six regions, Amritsar, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala, with a chief engineer and one superintending engineer designated for each region to improve coordination and field-level supervision.
Arora said the tender process for sewer line cleaning under the rate contract system has been completed for 161 ULBs, while five major municipal corporations, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Bathinda and Patiala, are in the final stages of tendering. Six agencies have been empanelled for the work.
He said the new system would free municipal councils from repeated tendering and help reduce delays in execution. PTI CHS OZ OZ
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