Chandigarh, February 4
Punjab Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Industries & Commerce, Power and Investment Promotion Sanjeev Arora today said that the State Government has rolled out far-reaching administrative, financial, and structural reforms in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to ensure time-bound decision-making, transparency, and uninterrupted execution of development works across Punjab.
Reviewing the functioning of ULBs, the Minister stated that prolonged pendency of resolutions and approvals had earlier affected development and public service delivery. To address this, the Government has adopted a reform-driven, decentralised, and accountability-based governance framework, supported by daily monitoring, systemic restructuring, and strict timelines.
“As a result, a substantial backlog of long-pending resolutions has been cleared, 1100 resolutions were pending and in last 3 week 900 have been cleared. Some resolutions were pending from 2018, restoring momentum to urban infrastructure and civic development works. The remaining cases are under active process and are expected to be disposed of shortly”, said Arora.
Arora further said that in order to institutionalise these reforms, the e-Nigam software has been implemented with effect from 01.02.2026 for exclusive online processing of all ULB resolutions. This marks a decisive shift away from manual procedures and ensures speed, transparency, traceability, and accountability. Further procedural simplification and decentralisation are being undertaken to prevent future pendency.
Arora announced that financial approval powers have been significantly enhanced to expedite execution of development projects at the field level: Superintending Engineers (SEs) are now empowered to accord financial approvals up to ₹2 crore, enhanced from the earlier limit of ₹1 crore. “Chief Engineers (CEs) can now approve projects up to ₹10 crore, doubled from the previous ceiling of ₹5 crore. In another major reform, two Committees of Chief Engineers have been constituted at the Headquarters in place of the earlier single committee, ensuring elimination of bottlenecks and zero pendency at the Head Office level”, he added.
Arora informed that, based on geographical and administrative considerations, all Urban Local Bodies have been reorganised into six regions—Amritsar, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Patiala. “Under the new structure: One Chief Engineer (CE) has been designated for each region, overseeing Municipal Corporations and Councils, including B&R and O&M works. One Superintending Engineer (SE) has been posted per region. One Sub-Divisional Engineer (SDE) has been posted per district. This rationalisation aims to improve coordination, enhance field-level supervision, and accelerate execution of projects”, he concluded.
