When it comes to increasing or enhancing their honorarium, Chandigarh public representatives were quick enough to quote that they ought to follow their counterparts in Punjab. They said that Punjab Municipal Act is extended to Chandigarh and accordingly the honorarium should also be increased.
However, no one ever followed Punjab or Haryana in the case of these luxury freebies of expensive laptops and mobile phones. Neither Punjab nor Haryana gives its councillors or public representatives any laptop or expensive phone at the cost of the public money. Interestingly, here in Chandigarh, it is these councillors themselves who in the house have created this entitlement for own self. And never any agenda came till now to either kill this public money spending let alone pruning it down.
Panchkula Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal while speaking to The Indian Express said, “There is no provision of any laptop or phone to the councillors here. And For Mayor, it is just official vehicle that is allowed and I haven’t even taken that. I use my personal vehicle to commute to the office or go to any spots. Even the honorarium that I get of Rs 20,500 I distribute it in the sweepers every month.”
Similarly, Punjab offers only honorarium to the councillors and Mayor. The Mayor in Punjab gets an official vehicle but there is no provision of any expensive laptop or mobile phone.
AAP leader Pardeep Chhabra while speaking to The Indian Express said, “ These Chandigarh councillors will keep or create those provisions that will suit their lavish whims and fancies. It is sheer wastage of money. Why couldn’t they bring an agenda till now which just finishes this entire provision of giving such luxury freebies to these councillors.”
He added, “Moreover, initially the purpose to allow laptops to the councillors was that the house will go paperless and all will perform their duties digitally be it just the reading of the agenda. But this has more or less become a scam. One after the other they keep purchasing back to back phones and laptops.”
In Chandigarh, the honorarium for councillors and Mayor also increased considerably. Till 2015, the councillors would get Rs 10,000 as honorarium and Mayor would get Rs 20,000.
However few years back an agenda was brought in the house and the honorarium was again hiked. At present, a Mayor gets Rs 45,000 in Chandigarh every month and a councillor gets Rs 15000 as the honorarium along with amount of phone bill that is Rs 2700 per month.
The Chandigarh MC house had demanded their honorarium be brought at par with Punjab.
Aam Aadmi Party Councillor and Former Leader of Opposition Yogesh Dhingra condemned former Mayors for splurging public money.
He stated that “to live life like a king but at the public’s expense , Former BJP Mayor purchased Apple iPhone 14 Pro just two weeks before her mayoral term was to end that too for Rs 1,50,306.
“The maximum limit of reimbursement of a mobile phone allowed for Mayor is “unlimited” which is absolutely very very foolish and reflects entirely greed on their part. What if Apple launches new phone worth of Rs. 4 lakh. How one can buy such a luxurious freebies from the hard earned money of tax payers.It is not justifiable at all,” he said.