After eight years, the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) is preparing to host 75 elected councillors in its sprawling meeting hall.
The oath ceremony will take place on October 30 at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium where newly elected corporators of the BJP, Congress and Independents will be administered the oath of secrecy by the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma.
The meeting hall, which was constructed after last municipal elections in 2005, is being renovated to conduct regular meetings when the Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be elected.
The BJP, with 43 seats, emerged as the single-largest party with an absolute majority in the JMC but it is yet to declare its Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Sources said the party was likely to announce the names after the oath ceremony.
The Congress, which was expected to do better in these elections, won just 14 seats. The Independents, with 18 seats, have emerged as a major opposition to the BJP in the municipality.
“The last session of corporators was held in 2010. For the past eight years, no elected representative has sat in the hall. There have been official meetings but we feel the hustle and bustle will be back when elected members of the civic body come here,” said a senior municipal official looking after the renovation works.
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Around 100 invitation cards for corporators and 700 invitation cards for MLAs and VIPs have been dispatched. “People participated in the elections and now it’s the turn of the elected representatives to fulfil the promises. Our city and civic infrastructure is in a dilapidated condition. Let’s hope the situation improves,” said Sushil Kumar, a local resident.
Till 2000, the city was having an area of 32 sq km. In 2003, the then PDP-Congress government approved the city limits to 117 sq km. Ahead of the 2018 municipal elections, the state extended the boundaries of the city by including four more wards in its ambit.
