Jammu: To make the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) more efficient, effective and focused in its operations, the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Council (AC), which met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, approved the proposal of Housing and Urban Development Department to reorganise the corporation, officials said on Thursday.
The decision has been taken in consideration of the fact that JMC has grown from an initial number of 23 wards covering an area of 32 sq km to 71 wards spread over 112 sq km, without any corresponding increase in its manpower or infrastructure.
Currently, against the total sanctioned strength of 2,623 posts, 1,540 regular employees are in position, whereas 1,741 workers have been outsourced with additional 724 on casual/contractual arrangement. The annual expenditure incurred by JMC on this account is Rs 106.81 crore.
Post reorganisation, the JMC will have dedicated wings for administration, revenue, health and sanitation, solid waste management, building, accounts and planning, legal, veterinary, transport, informatics, engineering, floriculture and miscellaneous activities.
Accordingly, some positions will be outsourced with the twin objective of hiring the staff as per requirement without much stress on the resources and ensuring association of technical experts with the corporation.
Further, to provide fillip to the agency's revenue generation towards establishing a self-sustainable model of local governance, JMC will also be able to levy property tax; revise building permission fee; revise rent in respect of shops, open spaces and buildings; rationalise existing fleet/vehicles; auction materials; levy charges in respect of water filling; collect tower fee; enhance compounding fee in respect of impounded items and goods, among others.
The Administrative Council also approved an additional financial grant of Rs 3.26 crore per annum for optimal functioning of the Jammu Municipal Corporation.
—IANS