City limit expansion contained again; census blamed

Ludhiana: In a setback to the city's expansion plans, the proposal to extend Ludhiana's municipal limits by bringing more villages under the Municipal Corporation has been scrapped. The local bodies department has cancelled the resolution approved by the MC House last Dec, citing restrictions linked to the ongoing census process.

The principal secretary, local bodies department, wrote a letter to the MC commissioner saying that the resolution did not follow existing rules and instructions. Officials said municipal boundary changes are not permitted during the census period, leading to the decision being overturned.





An MC official, requesting anonymity, said delay in preparing data and obtaining approvals proved costly. The official claimed that the Centre had earlier sought inputs on possible expansion, but due to procedural delays, the matter could not be finalised on time. He added that efforts could be renewed once the census process concluded.

MC secretary Neeraj Jain confirmed the details.

The development has triggered a political blame game. Former BJP councillor Narinder Singh Malhi said his party had opposed the proposal from the beginning and alleged that the ruling party had ulterior motives. Underlining the precarious condition of the civic body, SAD district president Bhupinder Singh Bhinda said the MC was already struggling to meet existing obligations related to water supply, sewerage, roads and streetlights, and lacked resources needed to manage additional areas.

Responding to the criticism, senior deputy mayor Rakesh Prashar said the cancellation was a procedural matter linked to the census and accused opposition parties of creating unnecessary controversy. He said the govt would pursue the issue again after completion of the census exercise.

Box: String of failed attempts

Successive govts tried to extend city limits in 2011, 2016, and 2021. In 2011, then MLA Darshan Singh Shivalik initiated talks on the issue, after which maximum number of villages from the Gill constituency were included in the list.

On Dec 20, 2016, the MC house gave approval to include 53 villages in city limits. However, BJP leaders objected to the proposal saying that the saffron party did not have a base in rural areas. During the Congress regime, MC limits were not expanded in view of the poor financial condition of the civic body.
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