The Times of India 18.10.2010
No tour can send MC councillors on guilt trip
CHANDIGARH: Not appearing to be too bothered about the controversy surrounding their study tour, as another batch municipal councillors leaves for Kerala, the group that had earlier travelled to Gangtok, Siliguri and Kolkata is yet to submit its report.
Sources said the report card is yet to be prepared, and hence, will take some time for submission.
The first group of councillors had returned a week ago. Explaining the delay, a councillor who was part of the tour, said, “The ongoing controversy over study tours has distracted us. It will take a couple of weeks to finalize the document.”
Another councillor excused the ‘laxity’ by saying officials in the cities they had visited were busy in festival celebrations.
Though full of praise for the picturesque locations they had gone to, most of the councillors of the previous group said the visit had been worthless. “No meeting could be conducted in Darjeeling, where we stayed for two days. In Gangtok, we could only talk to the mayor as no officer was present to brief us. The representatives in Kolkata were occupied with Durga Puja festivities,” the councillor added.
The tour of councillors puts a heavy burden on the government exchequer as lakhs are spent on the trips. While mooting the tours, councillors often claim that they would study the best practices followed in other cities and countries and replicate the same in Chandigarh. However, the past tours have failed to benefit Chandigarh in any way and the money seems to have gone down the drain.
