Without Power and Funding, Local Governance Has Collapsed : Sham Lal Basan

It has been over a year since the term of the Jammu Municipal Corporation expired, yet no new Urban Local Body (ULB) elections have been announced.

- RUHANI SAWHNEY

While residents across wards face administrative neglect, Ward No. 48, which includes Gorkha Nagar, is seeing growing frustration. Citizens are reaching out to former Corporators in hopes of resuming long-pending development.

Northlines spoke to Sham Lal Basan, Ex-Corporator of Ward No. 48, to understand the challenges being faced, the condition of civic infrastructure, and the deeper issues behind the stalled progress.

“People Are Suffering Because the System is Leaderless”

Northlines: Mr. Basan, you served for five years as Corporator. What development work did you manage to undertake during your tenure?

Sham Lal Basan: When I was elected as Corporator, I took up development works across the ward seriously. In total, I executed projects worth over ₹1.40 crore. Specifically for Gorkha Nagar, I had sanctioned ₹42 lakh for various works. However, by the time the execution phase began, the municipal term had ended, and assembly elections had taken place. So, the works were ultimately executed through the MLA.