It seems that the municipal corporation is not subject to its own regulations. As illustrated by the allotment of a green belt to a garden welfare society, the MC easily bends the rules as and when required.

According to the norms, a park management committee cannot be allotted an area of over 5,000 square metres for maintenance.

But throwing this condition to the winds, a society has been allotted 24,400 square metres of a green belt (about 6 acres) on the Chandigarh Road.

Sources said horticulture experts had objected to the allotment and proposed that the area be give to a private company, which would also help generate revenue from advertisements, but the Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) overruled all pleas.

Now, the state government has asked the committee for an explanation as to why the rules were flouted.

The area is falls under the ward of Deputy Mayor Sunita Aggarwal and it is learnt that she was the main promoter behind the allotment. Aggarwal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Senior Deputy Mayor Parveen Bansal said: “It was a single green belt so we decided to allot it to one park management committee rather than divide it among many. I agree that giving it to private advertisers will help the MC save money and talks are still on in this matter.” The MC stands to save Rs 24,400 per month if the area is allotted to a private contractor.

The green belt is located opposite Veer Palace on the Chandigarh Road and extends till the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) nursery. Plantation in a large part of this green belt has been done by the PUDA.