Chandigarh Municipal Corporation

Local civic body in Chandigarh, India

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Municipal Corporation Chandigarh

Type
Type|

Municipal corporation

of Union Territory of Chandigarh

History
Founded| May 24, 1994 (1994-05-24)
Leadership

Mayor

Harpreet Kaur Babla, BJP
since 30 January 2025[1]

Senior Deputy Mayor

Jasbir Singh Bunty, INC
since 30 January 2025[1]

Deputy Mayor

Taruna Mehta, INC
since 30 January 2025[1]

Municipal Commissioner

Amit Kumar, IAS

Structure
Seats| 45 (35 elected + 1 member of parliament + 9 nominated)

Political groups

| Government (16)

*   BJP (16)[2][3][4][1]

Opposition (20)
INDIA (20)

*   AAP (13)[5]
*   INC (6 + 1 MP vote Manish Tewari)[6]

Nominated (9)

*   NOM (9)

Length of term

| 5 years
Elections

Last election

| 24 December 2021

Next election

| December 2026
Meeting place
New Deluxe Building, Sector 17, Chandigarh
Website
chandigarh.gov.in

The Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC), also known as Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, is the civic body that governs the city of Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab and Haryana.[7][8][9][10]

## History

[edit]

The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, India was formed within the Union Territory of Chandigarh under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act in 1976. The corporation was later extended to the union territory, Chandigarh, by the Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Act, 1994 (Act No.45 of 1994), which came into effect on 24 May 1994. Under a provision of Section 47 of the act, M.P. Tyagi was appointed as the first Commissioner of the Corporation w.e.f. on 19 June 1995. Tyagi continued to exercise mayoral powers until 23 December 1994, when the first meeting of the elected body of the Corporation was held. Tyagi was succeeded as Commissioner by S.K. Gathwal on 8 August 1996.[11]

In the Municipal Corporation, BJP candidate Arun Sood defeated Congress' Mukesh Bassi by 21–15 votes for the post of Mayor, while BJP's Davesh Moudgil and SAD's Hardeep Singh defeated Congress' Darshan Garg and Gurbax Rawat for the posts of Sr. Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively, in the Municipal Corporation's mayoral polls in January 2016.[12]

After the 2016 Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election in January 2017, BJP's Asha Kumari Jaswal was elected as the mayor, BJP's Rajesh Kumar Gupta and Anil Dubey were elected as senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor respectively. In January 2019, Mayor elections, BJP candidate Rajesh Kumar Kalia was elected as the Mayor by defeating the independent candidate Satish Kainth by securing 16 votes out of the total 27 votes.[13]

Ravi Kant Sharma served as Mayor of Chandigarh till 2021[14] upon succeeding Raj Bala Malik.[15]

2021 Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election was held on 24 December 2021. Sarbjit Kaur was elected as the Mayor of the civic body after the elections.

## List of mayors

[edit]

The mayor is the head of the Municipal Corporation. Of the five-year term of the Municipal Corporation, Office of the Mayor, for the first and fourth years, is reserved for women.[16]

S. No. | Name | Term | Party

|
|
|

1. | Kamla Sharma | 23 December 1996 – 22 December 1997 |
2. | Gian Chand Gupta | 23 December 1997 – 22 December 1998
3. | Kewal Krishan Addiwal | 23 December 1998 – 22 December 1999[17]
4. | Shanta Hit Abhilashi | 23 December 1999 – 22 December 2000
5. | Raj Kumar Goyal | 23 December 2000 – 21 July 2001
6. | Gurcharan Dass (acting) | 22 July 2001 – 17 August 2001
7. | Harjinder Kaur | 18 August 2001 – 22 December 2001
8. | Lalit Joshi | 1 January 2002 – 31 December 200
9. | Subhash Chawla | 1 January 2003 – 31 December 2003
10. | Kamlesh | 1 January 2004 – 31 December 2004
11. | Anu Chatrath | 1 January 2005 – 31 December 2005
12. | Surinder Singh | 1 January 2006 – 31 December 2006
(7). | Harjinder Kaur | 1 January 2007 – 31 December 2007
13. | Pardeep Chhabra | 1 January 2008 – 31 December 2008
(10). | Kamlesh | 1 January 2009 – 31 December 2009
(11). | Anu Chatrath | 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2010
14. | Ravinder Pal Singh | 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011
15. | Raj Bala Malik | 1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012
(9). | Subhash Chawla | 1 January 2013 – 31 December 2013
16. | Harphool Chander Kalyan | 1 January 2014 – 5 January 2015
17. | Poonam Sharma | 6 January 2015 – 7 January 2016
18. | Arun Sood | 8 January 2016 – 31 December 2016
19. | Asha Kumari Jaswal | 12 January 2017 – 8 January 2018
20. | Davesh Moudgil | 9 January 2018 – 18 January 2019
21. | Rajesh Kumar Kalia | 19 January 2019 – 9 January 2020
22. | Rajbala Malik | 10 January 2020 – 7 January 2021 |  | Bharatiya Janata Party
23. | Ravi Kant Sharma | 8 January 2021 – 7 January 2022
24. | Sarabjit Kaur | 8 January 2022 – 16 January 2023
25. | Anup Gupta | 17 January 2023 – 30 January 2024
26. | Manoj Sonkar | 30 January 2024 – 18 February 2024
27. | Kuldeep Kumar | 20 February 2024 - 30 January 2025 |  | Aam Aadmi Party
28. | Harpreet Kaur Babla[1] | 30 January 2025 – Incumbent |  | Bharatiya Janata Party

## Composition

[edit]

According to the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh's website, the Corporation is composed of the following members:

1  | "Members to be directly elected, representing wards."[11] | 35

|
|

2  | "Members with voting rights to be nominated by the Administrator, from amongst the people who are eminent of distinguished in public affairs or those who have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of municipal administration."[11] | 10
3  | "The Member of the House of the people representing the constituency which comprises wholly or partly, the Municipal Area, with the right to vote. (Member of Parliament from Chandigarh)"[11] | 1

## Administration

[edit]

The commissioner is the apex of the municipal administrative hierarchy that runs its administration. He is a senior government official (usually an I.A.S officer) and is appointed by the Central government. He is the chief executive officer who is responsible for the passing and implementation of the annual municipal corporation budget, its policies and programmes. All personnel of the municipal corporation work under the commissioner's supervision and control.[18]

The current municipal commissioner of the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh is Amit Kumar.[19]

Chandigarh being a city-state, and a Union Territory does not have a legislative assembly of its own, even though it hosts the legislative assemblies of two states Punjab & Haryana, being a common capital of both states. It has its own Municipal Corporation (MCC), which acts as the local governing authority of the City Beautiful (Chandigarh). The MCC is one of the most powerful local authorities in the Republic of India as it serves both as a regional and local authority.

## Departments

[edit]

Public Health Department  | Planning & Building Branch

|

Health & Sanitation Department  | Horticulture Department
Building & Roads Department  | Fire and Emergency Services Department
Electrical Department  | Finance & Accounts Department
Legal Department  | Pensions & P.F.Department
Audit Department  | Urban Poverty Alleviation & Livelihood Cell
Architecture Department  | Estate Department
Booking Department  | Public Relations Department
Enforcement Department  | I.T. Department
Agenda Department  | Taxation Department
Paid Parking Department  |

## Composition of MCC House

[edit]

This section is transcluded from General House of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh. (edit | history)

Contesting the 2021 Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election for the first time, Aam Aadmi Party won 14 seats and became the single largest party in the council of total 35 elected seats.[20] Sitting mayor Ravi Kant Sharma from BJP lost his seat to AAP candidate Damanpreet Singh.[21][22]

Composition of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation after 2021 Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election.

Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (April 2022)  Party | Seats won | Seats +/−

|
|

| Aam Aadmi Party | 14 | 14
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 12 |  8
| Indian National Congress | 8 | 4
| Shiromani Akali Dal | 1 |

Two Congress members defected to BJP after election.

Composition of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (July 2022)  Party | Seats

|

| Aam Aadmi Party | 14
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 14
| Indian National Congress | 6
| Shiromani Akali Dal | 1
| Nominated  | (vacant)
| Member of Parliament  | 1

## Current members

[edit]

### Elected councillors

[edit]

Mayor: Harpreet Kaur Babla[23]

Senior Deputy Mayor: Jasbir Singh Bunty[23]
Deputy Mayor: Taruna Mehta[23]
Ward No | Councillor | Party | Remarks
1  | Jaswinder Kaur  |  | AAP |
2  | Maheshinder Singh Sidhu  |  | BJP |
3  | Dalip Sharma  |  | BJP |
4  | Suman Devi  |  | AAP |
5  | Darshana  |  | INC |
6  | Sarabjit Kaur  |  | BJP |
7  | Manoj Sonkar  |  | BJP |
8  | Harjeet Singh  |  | BJP |
9  | Bimala Dubey  |  | BJP |
10  | Harpreet Kaur Babla  |  | BJP | Elected as INC candidate, later defected to BJP.
11  | Anup Gupta  |  | BJP |
12  | Saurabh Joshi  |  | BJP |
13  | Sachin Galav  |  | INC |
14  | Kuljeet Sandhu  |  | BJP |
15  | Ram Chander Yadav  |  | AAP |
16  | Poonam  |  | AAP | Elected as AAP candidate, defected to BJP after election.[3]
17  | Damanpreet Singh  |  | AAP |
18  | Taruna Mehta  |  | INC | Elected as AAP candidate, defected to INC after the election.[24]
19  | Neha Musawat  |  | BJP | Elected as AAP candidate, defected to BJP after election.[3]
20  | Gurcharan Jeet Singh Kala  |  | BJP | Elected as INC candidate, defected to BJP, then to AAP and then again to BJP after the election.[25][26][3]
21  | Jasbir Singh  |  | AAP |
22  | Anju Katyal  |  | AAP |
23  | Prem Lata  |  | AAP |
24  | Jasbir Singh Bunty  |  | INC |
25  | Yogesh Dhingra  |  | AAP |
26  | Kuldeep Kumar  |  | AAP |
27  | Gurbax Rawat  |  | BJP | Elected as INC candidate, defected to BJP on 27 January 2025.[27]
28  | Nirmala Devi  |  | INC |
29  | Manaur  |  | AAP |
30  | Hardeep Singh  |  | AAP | Elected as SAD candidate, defected to AAP after the election.[28]
31  | Lakhbir Singh Billu  |  | BJP | Elected as AAP candidate, defected to BJP after the election.[2][3]
32  | Jasmanpreet Singh Babbar  |  | BJP |
33  | Kanwarjit Rana  |  | BJP |
34  | Gurpeet Singh  |  | INC |
35  | Rajinder Sharma  |  | BJP |

### Nominated councillors

[edit]

Sr. No.  | Councillor

|

1  | Charanjiv Singh
2  | Ajay Dutta
3  | Sachin Kumar Lohtiya
4  | Haji Mohd. Khurshid Ali
5  | Dr Joytsna Wig
6  | Shipra Bansal
7  | Sat Parkash Aggarwal
8  | Kamla Sharma
9  | Maj. Gen. M. S. Kandal

## Civic utilities

[edit]

The prime responsibilities of the civic body are to ensure cleanliness and sanitation in the city, illumination of street lights, maintenance of parks, and sewerage disposal.[29]

### Water Supply

[edit]

The city has both brick and pipe sewers laid in four phases.[30] In September 2020, the civic body announced that it would upgrade and renew the 50-year-old sewerage system.[30] The pilot project for the 24x7 water supply is expected to begin in Chandigarh in May 2021, which was initially to start in September 2020 and end in March 2022. On 8 April 2021, Chandigarh Smart City Ltd (CSCL) opened the bid by the joint venture firm between SB Engineering and Tap Presstressed Pvt Ltd that quoted a value lower than the reserved price of ₹162 crores. The CSCL board is yet to take the final decision.[31]

### Tariffs

[edit]

In 2021, the BJP ruled corporation had increased the water tariff by 200 times. This created widespread discontent among the residents. AAP promised to provide free water up to 20,000 litres to each family in Chandigarh every month.[32]

In 2021, there was an acute shortage of parking spaces. As the problem aggravated BJP led corporation increased the parking charges in the city. The increase in the waste collection charges, water tariff and property tax rates during the last five years made the voters against the incumbent BJP.[32]

The increased expenditure for the basic amenities and these tariff hikes led to a strong discontent among the voters.[32]

### Cleanliness

[edit]

In 2016, Chandigarh was the second cleanest city of India. In 2016 BJP came to power in the corporation. In the years that followed, garbage from the city was not disposed of properly. The lack of a proper process or mechanism led to the garbage piled up at the Dadu Majra garbage dump site.[32][33]

In 2021, Chandigarh fell to 66 positions in the cleanest cities in India. The city had always taken pride in the fact that it was one of the cleanest cities in the country. The fall in cleanliness became an important poll issue. The residents were upset with the downfall in the cleanliness.[32]

### Covid-19

[edit]

The government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in India damaged BJP's image as the voters felt that they were not given desired help in getting the hospital beds and medical oxygen from their elected representatives. The sitting Councillors were found to be unapproachable when the public needed support. No major relief measure was taken by the local government.[32]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Arya, Avni (30 January 2025). "Who Is Harpreet Kaur Babla? Chandigarh's New Mayor Secures Victory Over INDIA Bloc With Cross-Voting Push". Times Now. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
2. ^ a b Rana, Sandeep (11 January 2024). "Another blow to Chandigarh AAP, councillor Lakhbir Singh Billu joins BJP". Tribune India. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
3. ^ a b c d e "Manoj Sonkar resigns as Chandigarh Mayor ahead of SC hearing, 3 AAP councillors join BJP". India TV. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
4. ^ "Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat joins BJP ahead of Chandigarh mayoral elections". India TV News. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
5. ^ "Akali Dal's Chandigarh candidate Hardeep Singh who quit party joins AAP, boost for Congress Manish Tewari". The Tribune. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
6. ^ "AAP, Congress seal alliance for Chandigarh mayoral polls". Economic Times. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
7. ^ "History of MCC". Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh. 4 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 December 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
8. ^ "Chandigarh Municipal Corporation likely to charge for advertising on cinema houses, multiplexes". The Indian Express. 18 November 2015n. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
9. ^ Rohtaki, Hina (4 November 2015). "Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to spruce up heritage site". The Indian Express. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
10. ^ "Chandigarh Municipal Corporation Newly elected mayor rajesh kumar alias kalia January 2019". newsgraph.net. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
11. ^ a b c d "Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, Chandigarh Administration, India". mcchandigarh.gov.in. Archived from the original on 14 July 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
12. ^ "BJP-SAD wins all top posts in Chandigarh MC polls". Tribune. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
13. ^ "Rajesh Kalia new Mayor of Chandigarh". The Hindu. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
14. ^ "The Ragpicker Who Would Be Mayor: Chandigarh's Rajesh Kalia is an inspiration for all". Times Now. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
15. ^ Victor, Hillary (10 January 2018). "From clerk's son to Chandigarh mayor: BJP's Davesh Moudgil". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
16. ^ "Chandigarh Mayor Election 2022 on January 8; AAP, BJP in race". The Financial Express. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
17. ^ "Jain men elected Mayor, Dy Mayor". The Tribune. 23 December 1998. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
18. ^ "Composition of a Municipal Corporation in India". PublishYourArticles.net - Publish Your Articles Now. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
19. ^ "Administrative Structure". Chandigarh Administration. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
20. ^ Ghazali, Mohammad; Ghosh, Deepshikha (27 December 2021). "AAP Wins Most Seats In Chandigarh Polls On Debut, BJP Mayor Among Losers". NDTV.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
21. ^ "AAP emerges as leading party as Chandigarh MC poll throws up hung house; BJP's sitting mayor loses". The Tribune. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
22. ^ "Chandigarh Municipal Polls: AAP Emerges Leading Party; Party's Damanpreet Singh Defeats BJP Mayor". Outlook. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
23. ^ a b c "Who Is Harpreet Kaur Babla? Chandigarh's New Mayor Secures Victory Over INDIA Bloc With Cross-Voting Push". Times Now. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
24. ^ "Chandigarh AAP councillor Taruna Mehta joins Congress". Hindustan Times. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
25. ^ "Another Congress councillor joins BJP, changes voting equation in Chandigarh Municipal Corporation". The Indian Express. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
26. ^ "BJP councillor Gurcharan Singh Kala joins". Tribune. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
27. ^ "Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat joins BJP ahead of Chandigarh mayoral elections". India TV News. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
28. ^ "Akali Dal's Chandigarh candidate Hardeep Singh who quit party joins AAP, boost for Congress' Manish Tewari". Tribune India.
29. ^ "How Chandigarh's four-pronged strategy is helping the city fight COVID-19 | Citizen Matters". 17 August 2020. Archived from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
30. ^ a b Sagar, Munieshwer A (11 September 2020). "Plans afoot to revamp Chandigarh's over 5-decade-old sewerage system". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
31. ^ Sagar, Munieshwer A (9 April 2021). "Pilot project for 24x7 water supply in Chandigarh set to begin in May". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
32. ^ a b c d e f Rohatki, Hina (27 December 2021). "Explained: 5 reasons why AAP scored big in Chandigarh municipal polls". The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
33. ^ "Dadu Majra dump in Chandigarh poses a threat to lives of 50,000 citizens: PIL in Punjab and Haryana HC". The Indian Express. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.

## External links

[edit]

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