Delay and discord mark last JMC-G executive panel meet

Jaipur: The final executive committee (EC) meeting of Jaipur Municipal Corporation-Greater began 2 hours late Saturday evening as 10 members, including deputy mayor Puneet Karnawat, absented themselves, while others arrived late.The delay and discord stemmed from members receiving copies of the 70 agenda proposals barely 24 hours before the meeting, prompting deputy mayor Puneet Karnawat and other committee members to demand that the meeting be rescheduled to Nov 6 or 7, on grounds that members should get enough time to prepare questions related to the agenda items.The meeting was originally scheduled for Oct 9 but was postponed after members objected to several contentious proposals, one of them being the renaming of a road in Pratap Nagar after Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi. TOI was the first to report that JMC-G was planning to move an agenda item seeking renaming of a city road and park after a person with an elaborate criminal record.The proposal was, however, dropped from the meeting's agenda on Saturday, with Mayor Somya Gurjar claiming it was included without her approval earlier.The meeting, slated for 4pm, began around 6pm after the quorum was finally met with 18 members present. The atmosphere was tense, with Gurjar remarking that she would "approve all proposals on behalf of the EC" even without the quorum. Eventually, all 70 proposals were passed, 40 related to naming of roads, parks, and memorials, and the remaining 30 concerning officers' promotions.Karnawat, who boycotted the meeting, said, "Rules clearly state that hard copies of agenda proposals must reach members at least seven days in advance. Sending them via WhatsApp just a day before shows pure formality, not transparency."Explaining the urgency, Gurjar said, "The meeting was originally planned for Nov 3, but the commissioner was to be away on govt duty, so we had to conduct it today."After the meeting, Gujar announced that the corporation's final board meeting will be held on Nov 7.