Renovation of office-bearers’ offices in last phase

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The work of upgrading the offices of key office-bearers at the municipal corporation headquarters, namely the mayor, deputy mayor, standing committee chairman, leader of the opposition, and leader of the house, is currently underway at a war footing. Nearly ₹2 crore is being spent on these works. At the same time, the general meeting hall is also being renovated to provide seating for all 115 corporators and to conduct general body (GB) meetings, with an expenditure of around ₹5 crore. Instructions have been issued to the concerned officials and contractors to complete all these works within the next month.

Just last week, municipal corporation administrator G Sreekanth inspected all the ongoing works. He directed officials to complete the works by January 15. Meanwhile, the election schedule has been announced, and coincidentally, polling and vote counting are both scheduled for January 15. It is estimated that the mayor will be elected between January 22 and 25. Keeping the elections in mind, the administration had begun preparations over the past four months. The offices of the office-bearers, which had been lying unused and gathering dust for the past five years, were first cleaned.

As the condition of all the offices was poor, the administrator ordered their renovation. Accordingly, tenders were issued and the works were awarded. Renovation work of the offices of the above key office-bearers was taken up. All the offices are being given a modern look with guidance from expert architects. Initially, the estimated cost for two offices was ₹70 lakh; however, after adding three more offices, the expenditure rose to nearly ₹2 crore, said deputy engineer Sanjay Chamle.

₹5-crore assembly hall

At the municipal corporation headquarters, the old GB meeting hall located on the third floor is being renovated. The renovation work has been underway for nearly four years. While retaining the old walls, everything else is being modernised. The work includes new seating arrangements, air-conditioning systems, upgraded sound systems, civil works, furniture, lighting, and a separate press gallery. The work is expected to be completed within the next month, said executive engineer Anil Tanpure.

The hall will accommodate 115 corporators, all department heads, and the municipal commissioner.