Chandigarh,
The Haryana Government on Saturday decided to abolish Ambala Municipal Corporation, instead splitting it into two municipal councils—Ambala City and Ambala Sadar.

The decision was taken at a state cabinet at a meeting chiared by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday, a press release by the state government said.

The state government said in the press statement that maintaining a municipal council had become unviable economically. Expenditure incurred on salaries, provident fund shares, pensions, gratuity of its employees and other local and mandatory obligations like audit fees, repayment of loans in 2016-17 came to Rs 51.19 crore—100.8 per cent more than its income at 51.15 crore for the same year, the release said.

Likewise, expenditure of 2015-16 was 104.89 per cent of its income.

Income and expenditure details of the corporation from financial year 2010-11 to 2016-17 show that the expenditure of the municipal corporation exceeded its total income by more than 80 per cent—with an exception to one year: 2013-14.

Besides this are demographic reasons. The two areas are currently split by areas administered by the Ambala Cantonment Board, and also come two separate assembly segments.

The town of Ambala Sadar is some 10-12 km from the main municipal corporation office at Ambala city. As a result, the city houses not only the commissioner’s office, but also other civic offices, making it necessary for people of the town to traverse the distance to access the main municipal corporation office.

They can however access sub-divisional offices for work other than civic services in Ambala Sadar itself. The city meanwhile has separate sub-divisional offices.