The general house meeting of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) was cancelled on Tuesday due to lack of quorum, leaving the budget unapproved and salaries for staff at Miri Piri Hospital delayed for two months.
Meeting Cancellation Details
According to reports, 17 members had requested the president to remove four members, including the senior vice-president and junior vice-president, from the executive body for repeatedly remaining absent from meetings. Following this request, the general house meeting was convened to decide the fate of those absent members. However, while 33 members were required to complete the quorum, only 32 members arrived, leading to the cancellation.
A senior committee member revealed that a couple of members from the dissenting group had initially agreed to attend but backed out at the last moment. The matter will be discussed again, and a new date for the meeting will be announced.
Financial Implications
The quorum issue has prevented the committee from passing the budget for the current and previous years. This meeting was particularly critical due to the financial constraints at Miri Piri Hospital, where staff salaries have not been paid for two months. The HSGMC president had assured employees that once the general house meeting approved the budget, salaries would be released.
HSGMC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda stated, “A total of 32 members arrived, but since the quorum was incomplete, the meeting could not be held. The members have decided to hold public meetings in the areas of absent members to inform the Sikh sangat about their wrongful intentions. The committee will explain why development works have stalled under HSGMC.”
Call for Amendment
Jhinda added, “As per the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act, a two-thirds majority is mandatory to complete the quorum in both the executive committee and the general house. This provision is being misused by dissenting members to obstruct the smooth functioning of HSGMC. We will seek time from the Haryana Chief Minister to discuss the issue and request a suitable amendment to replace this provision with a simple majority.”
To ensure the smooth operation of Miri Piri Hospital, Jhinda mentioned plans to meet SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami. “We will discuss the matter so that SGPC continues financial support until HSGMC budget issues are resolved. We assure staff that salaries will be released soon. A new date for the general house meeting will be announced shortly,” he concluded.
