Haphazard constructions in most towns: Shanta Kumar

Our Correspondent

Palampur, February 11

Senior BJP leaders Shanta Kumar today expressed concern over haphazard constructions in most parts of the state. He said the government had failed to come out with a master plan for the expansion of towns in the past 10 years.

At a press conference, Shanta said if timely action was not taken, most of developing towns of the state would turn into slums, resulting in problems like garbage disposal, traffic jams, lack of safe drinking water.

He said the government was aware of the problems being faced by residents of developing towns, still no steps had been taken to create new municipal corporations and nagar panchyats.

The BJP leader lauded the state government for setting up a municipal corporation in Dharamsala.

He said Uttarakhand had set up six municipal corporations and 84 municipal councils in the past three years by amending the existing law, reducing the criteria of population for the creation of urban bodies which had made many towns clean and green. The state should also follow suit, he added.

If the state government wants to save its tourism industry, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will have to take some tough decisions, keeping aside political interests of his MLAs and ministers, to save tourist towns like Palampur, Manali, Dalhousie, Kangra, Dharmsala and Chamba.

“Civic amenities like proper sewerage and clean drinking water should be provided to the people of the state. The government cannot leave the residents at the mercy of panchayats which have no financial resources,” Shanta said. He said there was no shortage of funds at the Centre for municipal councils and corporations, but the resources were limited for the rural bodies or panchayats.