Corporation status sought for Solan MC

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, May 29

After failing to fit into the criteria of a smart city, officials of the local municipal committee have submitted a proposal to Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar to upgrade the civic body to a municipal corporation.

After being scrutinised by the DC, the proposal will be sent to the Urban Development Department. Though such proposals had been submitted in the past too, the town is yet to earn the status of a municipal corporation.

Kanwar said two major criteria pertaining to the population and the annual budget of the MC had been fulfilled as per the laid norms.

Though the town witnessed the highest population growth of about 56 per cent in the last census, it had failed to attain the desired population of 50,000. In a bid to achieve this population, various rural habitations lying in the precincts of the MC area like Kather, Shamti, Anji, Damrog and Rabon have been included in the proposal.

Officials said the town’s population was pegged at around 39,256 as per the census figures of 2011 though a sizeable amount of the population had been left out as the census was conducted in December when schools face annual closure and people move go on vacation. The inclusion of 16 revenue villages lying in the precincts of Solan will enhance this figure by 14,363, thus attaining a population of 53,619.

The MC, however, managed to fulfill the other criteria of having the annual revenue of more than Rs 2 crore as this figure was as high as Rs 7 crore.

The DC said since residents of 16 revenue villages proposed to be merged in the municipal corporation had voiced their protest against the merger, he would examine the proposal before sending it to the Urban Development Department for approval.

As inclusion in urban areas brings a plethora of regulations, the people are averse to being included in the proposal.

“With the town facing an influx of thousands of students from the across the state in view of the presence of several educational institutes, the status of a municipal corporation can help in making available adequate facilities like sewage treatment plants from various Centrally-sponsored schemes,” said the DC.

The status of a municipal corporation will also make the town eligible for various Central schemes. This will be the third corporation if approved in the state after Shimla and Dharamsala.