Chandigarh, July 3 -- Having missed two consecutive road repair seasons amid a debilitating fund crunch, the Chandigarh municipal commissioner has finally knocked on the UT administration's door, urging it to take over the city's main sector-dividing roads (V-3) for recarpeting and maintenance. The move comes nearly three months after the MC House had rejected the proposal in March, citing fears of permanently losing control over the 262-km road network in question. Despite strong opposition then, municipal commissioner Amit Kumar has now written to the UT administration to step in to salvage the crumbling roads before another crucial road repair window is lost. "Due to scarcity of funds, the riding surface of these main roads needs immediate attention. There are a total 68 roads under V-3 head, totalling 262 km in length, and as per practice, the roads are recarpeted after physical verification every five years and hence approximately 1/5th of the total length of these roads is carpeted every year. But due to scarcity of funds, the work of carpeting of the last three years is pending. The total cost involved for carpeting these roads is approximately Rs.26 crore," MC had clarified in the agenda, which was strongly opposed by councillors in March this year, who believed that transferring roads will mean no additional financial help from the Chandigarh administration. However, the rejection of the agenda had invited a dissent note from the commissioner, who had stressed on the urgent need for road repairs. "Road recarpeting requires significant funds, which we do not currently have. My priority is public welfare, and this is not the first time that MC has considered transferring roads to the UT for maintenance. It has happened in the past, with provisions to reclaim them after three to five years, subject to House approval. However, without funds, MC will not be able to recarpet any roads this season," he had said in his dissent note. Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla was also in support of the proposal, citing conditions to reclaim the roads once MC's financial condition improves. As per sources, the UT's engineering wing is ready to take over the responsibility, but the final approval is pending from Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria. Reacting to the MC commissioner's letter, AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra remarked, "The MC House is supreme. If councillors had rejected the proposal for public welfare, the decision should have been respected. If roads are transferred to UT, it will be difficult to take them back. Also, if transferring roads to UT is the only solution, why doesn't MC hand over all its responsibilities to UT and wash its hands off the financial crunch?" Congress councillor and senior deputy mayor Taruna Mehta said, "Most roads in the city are in poor condition. Instead of taking over the V-3 roads, the Chandigarh administration should give financial support to MC to recarpet all roads."...