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AMRITSAR: Amid a raging debate, the local municipal corporation on Friday cleared a resolution demanding that Amritsar be made a category C city (religious and tourist destination) in place of category B (city with a population of over 10 lakh) as a step towards claiming heritage city status.
The MC General house met after eight months. Several infrastructures related works also got the go-ahead.
The meeting was witness to heated arguments as the Congress councillors laid into the mayor and commissioner for ignoring their wards on development projects.
Congress leader Ranjan Agarwal and councillor Navdeep Singh Goldy led the charge.
Commissioner D.P.S. Kharbanda said that the heritage resolution was passed with out any objections. "We have asked for Amritsar to be made a category C city, which is done by the national steering group of Government of India after the state government approaches them," said Kharbanda.
Under category C, the city would be eligible for a funding pattern of 80 per cent Central government share, 10 per cent by the state and municipal corporation each.
The city has witnessed a growth drive in the past few months, Mayor Shawait Malik told the House.
"The state government has sanctioned Rs 5 crore for upgrade of the fire brigade. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has asked the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board to hand over Rs 25 crore of the Rs 58 crore funds to undertake phase-II of the elevated road project".
Further, the corporation intends to undertake a survey to draw up a mobility plan for the city by factoring in growth projections for the next 20 years. "The survey will try to suggest the nature of roads, intersections and laning patterns to put in place," said Malik.
During the meeting, councillors leveled corruption charges against officials of town planning department and clerk level employees.
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