Jalandhar's development projects have been affected by frequent changes in the Municipal Commissioner post, since the Punjab government took office in 2022, the Municipal Corporation has had eight different Municipal Commissioners and most of them served for less than a year, making it difficult to maintain continuity in important civic projects.
The latest change came with the transfer of Municipal Commissioner Sandeep Rishi and served for around 10 months before being replaced, according to officials, several important development works are now running behind schedule because of repeated changes in leadership.
The Municipal Commissioner is responsible for supervising the day-to-day functioning of the Municipal Corporation and monitoring major development projects, every time a new Commissioner takes charge, they review ongoing work and set their own priorities and this process often slows down projects that are already in progress, according to the available information, eight officers have served as Municipal Commissioner since 2022.
Their tenures were:
Karnesh Sharma: 22 months
Deepshikha Sharma: 2 months
Davinder Singh: 4 months
Abhijit Kaplish: 9 months
Dr. Rishipal Singh: 3 months
Aditya Uppal: 45 days
Gautam Jain: Around 18 months
Sandeep Rishi: Around 10 months
Several major civic projects have been delayed during this period and one of the biggest delayed projects is the Surface Water Project, which is running about two years behind schedule and the project aims to improve the city's drinking water supply, because of the delay, many residents continue to depend on groundwater.
The road renovation project has also been delayed by nearly three years, repairs of major roads and internal streets have not been completed, leading to traffic congestion and increasing the risk of road accidents. The proposed electric city bus service, planned to provide affordable and pollution-free public transport, has remained delayed for around two and a half years and the project has largely remained stuck at the paperwork stage.
Another delayed project is biomining at the Variyana garbage dump, which is about three years behind schedule and the delay has raised concerns about pollution and public health in nearby areas. The installation of 6,000 new streetlights has also been delayed by nearly two years while many roads and intersections are still waiting for proper lighting, which affects safety during the night.
Other projects facing delays include the installation of modern traffic signals, the beautification of Mandil Town Market, improvements in solid waste management, and the door-to-door garbage collection project and preparations were also underway to launch the door-to-door garbage collection project in September and this project was being supervised by Municipal Commissioner Sandeep Rishi before his transfer, officials are concerned that the latest administrative change could also affect its implementation.
Jalandhar Mayor Vaneet Dhir has also spoken about the issue. He acknowledged that frequent changes in the Municipal Commissioner post are affecting development work and said he raised the matter with officials of the Local Bodies Department during a meeting in Chandigarh.
According to the information available, many development works were planned after tenders were prepared before the Punjab Assembly elections, lists of projects were also made for different city wards however, repeated changes in the Municipal Commissioner post have made it difficult to continue the work at the same pace, as every new officer takes time to understand the projects and review their progress and before 2022, after the transfer of former Municipal Commissioner GS Khaira, the city had only three Commissioners over a period of five years. Their longer tenures allowed projects to continue with greater consistency.
With several important civic projects still pending, the Municipal Corporation now faces the challenge of completing these works while maintaining continuity in administration and according to the Mayor, ensuring steady leadership is important for the timely completion of development projects in the city.