Patna, June 24: With less than a year to go to for the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) polls, the councillors have started lobbying hard to get civic works completed in their wards. They are taking turns to visit the PMC office to ensure the officials released funds under the ward development schemes and gave a go-ahead to the proposed works.

“Most of the councillors are insecure. They feel they will not be able to sail through the next elections, as they have not been able to implement projects because of various reasons. There is a mad rush now to leave a mark during the last year of their tenure,” a source in the civic body said.

Abha Lata, the councillor of ward number 4, has been trying hard to get Rs 15 lakh released for the development of her ward for the past several years. She blamed the bureaucracy and administrative unwillingness for the mess.

“It has been months since it was announced that Rs 15 lakh will be allotted to each of the 72 wards. But only two out of four circles have got part of the money so far. The money was to be used for improving sanitation, drainage, road repair and street lighting. In many wards, even outstanding funds have not been allotted,” Lata said.

She added that her priority was to ensure families not included in the BPL list earlier because of irregularities be enlisted as soon as possible.

“We have tried our best but have not been able to do much in the past few years because of administrative instability and lack of funds. But the residents will blame us for the lack of development,” she said.

Deputy mayor Vinay Kumar Pappu, who represents a ward in old Patna, said frequent transfer of PMC commissioner and lack of foresightedness of the state government had created a civic mess in the city but the ward councillors would have to bear the brunt.

Pramila Singh, who represents ward number 7, said she was too embarrassed to face the residents of her area. “Every day I get complaints about insufficient water supply, overflowing drains, open manholes and broken roads. I tell them that I am trying hard to fix the problems. But they blame my inefficacy for the issues. I suspect if they will elect me again,” Singh said.

Councillor of ward number 1 Sanjay Kumar Singh said his area (Digha) was marred with perpetual waterlogging. “In May, I had an argument with the officials in the engineering section over the issue, following which an FIR was lodged against me on charges of criminal intimidation. But I will not stop the fight for my people,” Singh said.