Kuldip Narayan at a news meet on Wednesday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna municipal commissioner Kuldip Narayan on Wednesday lambasted mayor Afzal Imam and the empowered standing committee of the civic body for allegedly obstructing him from discharging his duties.

Narayan claimed that the Patna solid waste management project was not getting executed because of the delay caused by the standing committee over the past one year. He said the Rs 28 crore sanctioned for the project would be returned to the state government if the empowered standing committee did not give its approval for the procurement of equipment under this project.

The municipal commissioner also alleged that mayor Imam tried to “unlawfully lure” the councillors in a meeting of the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) board for the removal of the civic body’s panel advocate H.S. Himkar.

Himkar has been representing the civic body as its panel advocate in the high court as well as in the vigilance cases against illegal building construction activities in the city.

“It is mentioned in the proceedings of the board meeting held on October 31, 2013 that mayor Imam tried to lure the ward councillors by offering five sanitary workers in each ward, if they agreed to remove Himkar from PMC. Wasn’t this a bribe?” asked Narayan.

Mayor Imam, on the other hand, denied the allegation against him and said: “The municipal commissioner is making a false allegation. The proposal for deputing five sanitary workers in each ward was completely separate from the issue of removal of Himkar.”

Following the difference of opinion on the issue of deliberation on the removal of Himkar, The Telegraph went through the proceedings of the PMC board meeting available on the civic body website — www. http://patnanagarnigam.in.

According to records, Mumtaz Janha, the councillor of ward No. 60, raised the question on Himkar’s removal. She said when he was removed from PMC in 2006 for making forged withdrawal of Rs 7 lakh and the state government also recently sought his removal, then why was he being retained.

Thereafter, councillors Prabha Devi and Pramila Singh appealed for removal of Himkar through “unanimous decision” of the board. Thereafter, another councillor — Muhammad Qureshi — said five sanitary workers should be deployed in every ward for Chhath cleanliness works.

Finally, mayor Imam said if the house takes the decision with unanimity to remove Himkar and depute five sanitary workers in each ward, then this proposal would be passed by the board. The proceedings further reads that under the proposal No. 55, it has been decided with unanimity that Himkar should be removed from the post of PMC’s panel advocate. Further, proposal No. 66 reads that it has been decided in unanimity that five sanitary workers should be deputed in each ward.

Himkar is now legal consultant-cum-retainer of PMC, the highest post in the legal cell of the civic body.

Planning authority

Patna municipal commissioner Kuldip Narayan on Wednesday welcomed the move to constitute the Patna Planning Authority, a day after the state cabinet cleared its formation.

“Every city in the country has separate planning and municipal authorities and the same system prevailed in Patna till 2007, when the erstwhile Patna Regional Development Authority (PRDA) was merged with PMC. The merger of the planning authority and the civic authority took its toll on development works as majority of the unlawful buildings got constructed between 2009 and 2013. Such a situation arrived because most of the PRDA engineers got involved in basic municipal services. It is, in fact, a boon that Patna Planning Authority is being created because it would ensure planned development,” said Narayan.

A source claimed that the fundamental duty of the Patna Planning Authority would be to implement the master plan and building byelaws.