Move to replace LED screen stirs up row

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 1

Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan and the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation have locked horns over the proposed replacement of the LED screen on The Ridge which was inaugurated by former Chief Minister PK Dhumal in his earlier term.

According to sources, the Tourism Department, which is executing the Asian Development Bank-funded The Mall beatification project, has proposed to replace the LED screen on The Ridge with a bigger LED screen, one that the department has installed in the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex on The Mall.

But the Mayor said they had opposed the replacement of the screen as it was functioning properly and they spent Rs 12 lakh on its repair. “The MC House never approved the LED screen at sport complex as well as on The Ridge as the two LED screens that would cost over a crore were never part of the beautification project approved by the MC House,” he said.

The Mayor said the department was stepping into jurisdiction of the Shimla MC despite the fact that it was just an executive agency for this project.

Commissioner, Tourism, Mohan Chauhan said they had got the approval from the heritage committee to remove the LED screen. “We will not remove the plate bearing name of the former Chief Minister, but the proposal is to replace it with a bigger LED screen”, he added.