Residents left stranded as councillors step back ahead of delimitation

Jaipur: City development work has been affected due to pending decisions on dates for local body polls . Councillors are uncertain if they will hold their posts after a few months due to ward delimitation , leading to disinterest among them.

Leader of opposition in JMC-Greater, Rajiv Choudhary, a councillor from ward 100 under Sanganer assembly constituency, said, "Take up any issue, whether sanitation, condition of roads, or parks, everywhere work has slowed down. Even until last year, councillors would regularly approach MLAs or MLA candidates from their respective parties to get work done, especially around monsoon, as their performance depended on it, but now there is an atmosphere of disinterest."

Choudhary said that in several areas, councillors have stopped inspecting their wards, which has directly affected sanitation, leading to a rise in open waste dumps. "Councillors are aware that the number of wards will be reduced, and many may not get a ticket in the next election. As a result, they are no longer regularly following up with officials on residents' complaints. During the monsoon, inspections are crucial as road conditions deteriorate and poor sanitation can trigger disease outbreaks," he said.

Waste accumulation in key areas like Walled City, C-Scheme, and Panch Batti has been on the rise, especially in internal lanes, but action is slow.

From the Walled City, councillors echoed similar concerns and said that residents are calling councillors from nearby wards as their elected councillor is not responding.

Mohammad Zakaria, a councillor from ward 65 in Kishanpole zone, said, "Monitoring of work by councillors in their respective wards has declined, removing a crucial layer of accountability before final payments are made to contractors. As a result, residents are bearing the brunt—struggling with unresolved issues and reaching out to any councillor who is responsive and willing to intervene."

Councillors added that on streets, cleaning work is being done, but condition of parks across city have been deteriorating.