11112026-LT-01.qxd 11/11/2026 1:11 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune STATE GETS OWNERSHIP OF 12.5-ACRE DISPUTED LAND Local court dismisses claim filed by Ya Ghause Azam Dastgir Trust, Roshni Ground. P2 » GOVT MUST RESUME PADDY PURCHASE, SAYS BKU Union warns of protest on November 20 if the state government doesn’t hike sugarcane rates. P3 » DILJIT DISMISSES RUMOURS OF INDORE CONCERT CANCELLATION Punjabi singer Diljit goes live on Instagram, reassuring fans that he will perform on November 15. P4 FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 30°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5:29 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:45 AM » WEDNESDAY | 11 NOVEMBER 2026 | LUDHIANA After 9 years & 50 notices, work resumes on Sarabha Nagar road MC failed to act against contractor despite repeated warnings; Zone D crossing remains incomplete Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 10 It took the Municipal Corporation (MC) nine years and nearly 50 notices to get a contractor to restart work on a road project worth around Rs 6.5 crore in Sarabha Nagar. The work order was issued in 2017, with the project scheduled to be completed by 2022. Yet, despite repeated reminders and warnings, the road remained incomplete for years, with the civic body failing to take any decisive action against the contractor. Now, nearly nine years after the work order was issued, recarpeting of the road stretch from Sacred Heart Convent School to the MC’s Zone D office has finally begun. The delay, however, has raised serious questions about the corporation’s monitoring system and its apparent inability to enforce contractual obligations. What makes the case particularly glaring is that the MC reportedly issued 40 to 50 Work on a road outside the MC's Zonal office in progress in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN notices to the contractor, Deepak Builders, but neither cancelled the contract nor initiated any effective action to blacklist the firm. Under the civic body’s rules, action, including debarment, can be initiated after three notices for failure to complete work within the stipulated period. In this case, even repeated notices over several years failed to produce results. The road forms part of the Rs 79-crore Pakhowal Road railway overbridge and underbridge project undertaken under the Smart City Mission. Besides the ROB and RUB, the project included road construction, footpaths, underground cabling and development of the intersection near the MC’s Zone D office. The stretch from Sacred Heart Convent School to the Zone D office was also part of the contractor’s scope. MC set for fifth chief in just 2 years; Damanjit to replace Mahindroo Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 10 In yet another administrative reshuffle, the state government has transferred Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Dr Ankur Mahindroo and appointed PCS officer Damanjit Singh Mann in his place. The change makes Mann the fifth Commissioner to head the civic body in just over two years, reflecting the frequent administrative changes at the corporation. According to the transfer order issued by the Department of Personnel on Tuesday, Mahindroo has been posted as ADC (General), Sangrur, against a vacant post. He had assumed charge as MC Commissioner on October 19 and will thus, had a tenure of barely 22 days. Mann, a 2012-batch PCS officer, was earlier serving as Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), Patiala. According to an information, Incumbent shifted to Sangrur after just 22 days in office Damanjit Singh Mann he was posted on September 19, 2025. He has now been entrusted with the responsibility of heading the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, one of the state’s largest civic bodies. The latest appointment comes amid a series of changes in the MC’s top administrative leadership. Since September 2024, the it has seen five changes in its commissioners, including the latest appointment. The sequence began in September 2024 when IAS officer Aaditya Dachalwal replaced Sandeep Rishi, who was transferred as Deputy Commissioner, Sangrur. Dachalwal took charge on September 16, 2024, and served for around 16 months before being replaced by IAS officer Neeru Katyal Gupta in January 2026. Alankar, a 2020-batch IAS officer, took charge on June 15. He was earlier serving as Additional Chief Administrator of the GLADA. His tenure also lasted around four months before he was transferred in October. Following a stormy General House meeting of the MC, the state government transferred Alankar on October 13. PCS officer Dr Ankur Mahindroo, who was then serving as ADC (General), Sangrur, was appointed as the new MC Commissioner of Ludhiana. He took charge on October 19, but his tenure has now ended within 22 days. While the road has now been taken up for recarpeting, another important component remains incomplete. The intersection outside the Zone D office has not been developed as planned and the traffic islands continue to be surrounded by iron grills. The proposed beautification and improvement of the crossing have also failed to materialise. The timing of the road work has added to the questions being raised. Residents had to put up with the damaged stretch for years, but the corporation has started recarpeting only with the onset of winter, instead of completing the work well before the season. The sudden progress has also drawn attention to the civic body’s priorities, particularly with elections approaching. MC Executive Engineer Raman Kaushal confirmed that numerous notices had been issued to Deepak Builders over the delay. He said the long-pending work had now started. He said payments to the contractor were linked to the percentage of work completed. The contractor, meanwhile, had also been sending notices to the MC, seeking release of pending payments. He also stated that he had joined a few months ago and warned the contractor that if the work was not completed, strict action will be taken against him. Pilot, Channi to be part of Cong cycle rally reaching city on Nov 13 Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 10 Over 2,000 Congress men, including seasoned leaders such as Sachin Pilot, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Partap Singh Bajwa, will pedal towards Ludhiana on November 13 during the eight-day cycle rally of the party, which starts on November 12 from Chamkaur Sahib. All arrangements are in full swing in the city for November 13 when the Congress will hold the cycle rally in the city, which will pass through many areas, including Samrala, Sahnewal, Ramgarh, Jamalpur, Samrala Chowk, Division Number 3, Chaura Bazaar, Clock Tower, Pavillion Mall, Fountain Chowk, Ghumar Mandi, Aarti Chowk and then Durga Mata Mandir on Ferozepur Road. The participating senior Congress leaders will stay at Hardy’s World where arrangements are being made by local leaders. Ashu told The Tribune that from there the rally would pro- 2K party leaders to take part in eight-day event beginning tomorrow Congress leaders address mediapersons in Ludhiana. FILE ceed towards Phillaur on November 14. “Ludhiana remains the main attraction as the rally will finally culminate at Khanna on November 19 after covering areas such as Nurmahal, Shahkot, Moga, Baghapurana, Faridkot, Talwandi Sabo, Mansa, Sardulgarh, Bhadaur and Barnala. The eight-day rally aims at connecting with the people at the ground level. VVIPs will keep on joining during the event,” said Ashu, adding that it would be a game changer in the present political scenario. The leaders are doing their best to make the rally successful. Kuldip Vaid, another Congress leader, said after the cycle rally, all efforts would be made to call Priyanka Gandhi to Ludhiana for another big rally. The decision on the matter will be taken by the party high command. Roadways contractual employees stage rallies Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 10 Contractual employees of the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and PRTC staged gate rallies at bus depots across the state on Tuesday, accusing the state government of delaying the implementation of its promises and failing to address their long-pending demands. The employees alleged that even offer letters distributed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to outsourced workers on October 26 had failed to translate into actual contractual appointments, with not a single employee being regularised under the process so far. At the Ludhiana depot, union leaders said around 65 to 70 meetings had been held with the Aam Aadmi Partyled state government, but no concrete decision had been taken on their demands. They alleged that despite repeated assurances, the government was deliberately delaying the process of bring- ing outsourced employees under the department on a contractual basis. Addressing the gathering, union vice-president Gurpreet Singh and Sukhwinder Singh Babbu said employees working with PUNBUS for the past 11 to 12 years were still waiting for job security. They claimed that the Personnel and Finance Departments had cleared the proposal three times after removing objections related to the financial position of the Punjab Roadways. However, the government was yet to place the proposed service rules before the Cabinet for approval and implementation. The union leaders alleged that despite directions from the Transport Minister and the Transport Secretary, the officials concerned had not forwarded files to the Personnel Department, delaying the implementation of the Punjab Government’s Act No. 10, dated August 14. Under the Act, the outsourced employees of PUNBUS and PRTC are to be brought Roadways staff protest in Ludhiana on Tuesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN directly under the departments on a contractual basis. They also questioned the distribution of offer letters by the Chief Minister at Patiala on October 26, claiming that the documents had not resulted in any appointments. The union alleged that the government’s insistence that employees have three to five years of outsourced service was another attempt to keep workers dependent on con- tractors and intermediaries. PRTC depot president Daljit Singh and Harsharan Singh said during a meeting held on October 29, the Transport Minister and the Personnel Department had assured the employees that their demands would be fulfilled within two days. The minister had also reportedly assured them that the service rules would be approved at the Cabinet meeting on October 31. However, the promises remained unfulfilled, they alleged. The union reiterated its key demands, including bringing all outsourced employees directly under the departments on a contractual basis under the August 14 Act, regularising long-serving PUNBUS contractual employees under the service rules framed on the pattern of the PRTC, withdrawing cases registered against employees during protests and reinstating those terminated on allegedly unjustified grounds. Union leaders Satguru Singh, Gurwinder Singh and Amarik Singh warned that employees would no longer accept assurances without concrete action. They announced that if the government failed to fulfil their demands, an indefinite strike would begin on November 16. They also threatened to gherao the residences of the Chief Minister and the Transport Minister, holding the government and Transport Department officials responsible for any resulting situation. Himanshu Aggarwal Councillor says ~5 cr spent without F&CC nod, seeks MC probe is new Ludhiana DC Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 10 Himanshu Aggarwal is the new Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana, replacing Himanshu Jain. The orders regarding new postings were released late on Tuesday night. Earlier, Himanshu Aggarwal served as the Deputy Commissioner of Patiala. Himanshu Jain has been appointed as the new Patiala DC. Both of them will join the new offices on Wednesday. Aggarwal is a 2014-batch IAS officer. He has also served as the Deputy Commissioner in Jalandhar, Fazilka and Gurdaspur, Additional Deputy Commissioner in Mohali Has also served as DC in Jalandhar, Fazilka & Gurdaspur Himanshu Aggarwal and Amritsar; and SDM in Hoshiarpur. Aggarwal’s wife, Komal Mittal, is also a 2014-batch IAS officer. Ludhiana, November 10 Alleging a lack of financial oversight in the Municipal Corporation (MC), Congress councillor and Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) member Gaurav Bhatti has written to MC Commissioner Ankur Mahindroo, claiming that payments exceeding Rs 5 crore were made for old Punjab Urban Environment Improvement Programme (PUEIP) and Smart City projects without the committee’s approval. He has also sought details of bills worth nearly Rs 3 crore reportedly prepared by the Special Projects Office (SPO) branch against various approvals, calling for a comprehensive review of the expenditure and the procedures followed. In his complaint, Bhatti questioned the authority under which payments for the old projects were released from the MC treasury. He sought records relating to administrative and technical sanctions, cost estimates, work orders, measurement books (MBs), the actual execution of works and the officials responsible for processing and clearing the bills. The councillor further alleged that certain development works may have been split into smaller components to bypass mandatory tendering norms and higher-level financial approvals. He has demanded an inquiry to ascertain whether such practices were adopted and whether public funds were utilised in accordance with prescribed rules. c m y b Questions financial powers of officials Seeks monthly expenditure reports before F&CC Bhatti has proposed that all works and payments approved by the MC Commissioner, Joint Commissioners and Zonal Commissioners under their delegated financial powers be placed before the F&CC every month. According to him, the report should include details such as the name of the work, ward number, estimated cost, approving authority, contractor, work order particulars and payments released. He also sought that expenditure incurred during emergencies be placed before the committee at its subsequent meeting. The councillor has sought certified copies of the orders authorising Joint Commissioners and Zonal Commissioners to approve works worth up to Rs 2.50 lakh and the Commissioner to sanction works up to Rs 5 lakh. He argued that while financial powers may be delegated to officials, expenditure incurred under such powers should not remain beyond the scrutiny of elected representatives. He also stressed the need for compliance with the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, and the Punjab Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 2019. Bhatti has further sought records of bills prepared by the SPO branch during the past two years, along with details of works sanctioned under the financial powers of senior officials and payments released against them. Claiming that stricter financial oversight could curb avoidable expenditure by as much as 40 per cent, he has called for a detailed inquiry, action against officials or contractors, if irregularities are established, and submission of an action-taken report by the MC Commissioner. He has also demanded that any further payments linked to the questioned works be withheld till the allegations are thoroughly examined. MC Commissioner Ankur Mahindroo said, “I have directed the branch officials concerned to submit a report in this regard and the matter will be discussed in the upcoming meeting.”