Mayor forms F&CC panel, Senior Deputy Mayor strikes dissenting note

Mayor Jatinder Singh Moti Bhatia has formed a six-member Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC), but the decision has sparked internal dissent, especially from Senior Deputy Mayor Priyanka Sharma.

The F&CC, a key committee responsible for financial decisions and city development projects, now includes Senior Deputy Mayor Priyanka Sharma, Deputy Mayor Anita Rani, Municipal Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh, councillor Sukhbir Kaur from Ward 31 and councillor Jagmeet Singh from Ward 52. Councillor Jagmeet Singh, notably won the municipal elections as an independent candidate and later joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Senior Deputy Mayor Priyanka Sharma has strongly objected to the manner in which the committee was constituted. “No consultation was done with me before finalising the names, including that of two councillors from the same constituency, which raises questions. This looks like favouritism,” she said, adding that while the mayor has the authority to make decisions, ignoring teamwork and consultation weakens the system.

Some other councillors have also expressed dissatisfaction, warning that such unilateral decisions could increase factionalism within the party in the coming days. As attention now shifts to the formation of other sub-committees, such as those for Property Tax, O&M (Operations & Maintenance), Health, MTP (Municipal Town Planning) and others—several councillors are lobbying for the role of chairperson.

Mayor Jatinder Singh Moti Bhatia stated, “The committee will hold a meeting soon to initiate ground-level development work and ensure that stalled tenders are reissued and implemented without delay. We will not allow any irregularities in the tender process as happened previously. Everything will be done transparently and every file will be thoroughly checked.”

Amritsar