Hubballi: Over 50 corporators and Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) officials left for Indore and Ahmedabad for a ‘field visit’. The visit has sparked controversy as the details of the trip were not disclosed in the public domain before their departure.Citizens found out about the visit after photographs of corporators and officials surfaced on social media. The public questioned the timing and necessity of the tour, especially when HDMC is facing a severe funds crunch. They have also raised concerns over the tour being held at the year-end, pointing out that officials of the Indore and Ahmedabad municipal corporations may be on leave during this period, limiting the purpose of the visit. The team involves corporators from both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress.Commenting on the photos posted on the HDMC Controlroom Facebook page, Gopalkrishna Kamalapur questioned the use of the junket. “Garbage is collected twice in Indore, where banners, wall posters, and buntings are completely banned. Is it possible to achieve that in the twin city?” he questioned.Another netizen, Raghavendra MR, sought the impact of the HDMC delegation’s visit to Singapore in the past. “They just enjoyed at the public exchequer and are now doing the same,” he commented. Tanu Shree termed the ‘field visit’ as an annual phenomenon, and development and cleanliness are restricted only to photos. Khurshid Sayed reminded that the HDMC delegation visited Indore in the past, and no impact of that visit was seen here.The HDMC team had visited Indore in Sept 2024.Apart from the HDMC Controlroom’s page, netizens are taking corporators to task on their personal social media accounts. Meanwhile, sources in HDMC revealed that corporation has received a grant of Rs 2 crore under Swachh Bharat Mission-2, and there is a provision to spend Rs 80 lakh to develop capacity. “As many as 43 corporators and 10 officials, including the mayor, deputy mayor, and commissioner, left for Goa Airport by a luxury bus and from there they flew to Indore. They met Indore Municipal Corporation officials on Friday and left for Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. They will travel from Ahmedabad on the night of Dec 29 night to Goa and reach Hubballi on Dec 30 morning. HDMC is spending an average of Rs 1 lakh per member of the team,” they shared on condition of anonymity.However, mayor Jyothi Patil and HDMC commissioner Rudresh Ghali did not respond to the message sent on their WhatsApp.
