Pondy Lt Guv orders postponement of inauguration of Municipality building

Lt Governor Kiran Bedi hasordered the territorial administration to postpone theinauguration of a reconstructed structure of the PuducherryMunicipality, scheduled for Friday.

The former IPS officer on Thursday said that theinauguration of the building reconstructed at a cost of Rs 14crores was totally funded by the central government with theutilisation of funds provided by World Bank.

But the organising officer of the programme for whichinvitation had also been brought out had 'regrettablyoverlooked' the protocol to ensure participation by officersof the central government in the function.

Bedi, whose name is also not included in the invitation,said the inauguration of the reconstructed building was ahistoric event but the exclusion of the officers of theCentral government was 'regrettable'.

She said a fresh date of inauguration would be announcedin course of time.

The reconstruction of the building was one of theimportant works sanctioned by the Centre under CoastalDisaster Risk Reduction Project (CDRRP) involving Rs 14crores.

The Centre had availed a loan of Rs 244crores for theCDRRP from World Bank and the reconstruction work was fullyfunded by the Centre.

''It is proper to invite dignitaries of the Government ofIndia for the inauguration of the building.

Chief Secretary to Puducherry government had beenrequested to address the concerned Ministry and get a datefixed for inauguration, till then the programme for declaringopen the building has been postponed,'' she added.

Bedi has alsoissued a standing instruction that ''infuture representatives of the Government of India shouldinvariably be invited for inauguration of all projects fullyfunded by the Centre.'' The necessity to reconstruct a building to house Mairiebecame necessary after the previous edifice constructed in the19th century by the then French regime collapsed under theimpact of heavy rains some seven years ago.