Strict action will be taken if contempt case is proved against urban civic body

Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Housing, Shri Neeraj Mandloi has issued a departmental letter and instructed the urban local bodies that if found guilty in contempt of court cases, strict disciplinary action will be taken against the concerned. An order to withhold one increment in salary will be issued against the concerned person without any delay and, in case of serious lapse, departmental inquiry will be initiated to punish him as per rules. A departmental letter in this regard has been issued to the urban bodies today

The letter states that in some cases, it has been observed that in the ongoing legal cases in the courts regarding delayed payments by various categories of urban bodies, the concerned bodies do not present their actual side before the court, even after the amount demanded by the petitioners has been deemed unreasonable. As a result, the court issues orders to make payments within a time limit. This tarnishes the image of the department. The letter sates recently the incidents of Jhabua and Piploda (Ratlam) have come to light. In these cases, the state government has also been made a party for payment.

Through the letter, the local bodies have been asked to ensure that in the court cases related to the payment of tenderers, the eligibility, quality and calculation of payment as per the terms of the contract is placed before the court with complete facts. It has been said in the instructions that after disagreement with the payment, it will be the responsibility of the commissioner or municipal officer of the concerned body to comply with the payment order passed by the court or to ensure that the revision appeal is filed within the time limit.

The directions state that payment from the local body’s funds should be made promptly to comply with court orders. In cases where the funds are not available in the local bodies, the state government will make efforts to make the payment in compliance with judicial orders. Until cent percent reimbursement of the said amount is made in the concerned item, no amount will be given to that body by the state government under any item.