Rakesh Sharma is Dharamsala MC chief

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 8

The state government has appointed Rakesh Sharma as the first commissioner of the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation. Dharamsala is the second city in the state after Shimla to get the status of Municipal Corporation. The Cabinet had recently approved the post of a commissioner in the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation during the winter session of the Himachal Assembly.

Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma said the appointment of a municipal commissioner in Dharamsala shall usher a new phase of development in the area. The state government would soon make provisions on the analogy of Shimla for the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation.

He said Dharamsala Municipal Council staff eligible for absorption in the corporation cadre shall remain here while the remaining staff shall be shifted to other municipal councils of the state. The new staff shall be recruited for the corporation, Sharma said.

He said for the time-being, the office of the corporation shall function from the building of the Municipal Council. However, a new building of the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation would be constructed soon and a separate land shall be identified for it, he added.

The new municipal corporation shall have 17 wards with a population of 3,000 each. The wards include Forsythganj (Ward No. 1), Bhagsunag (Ward No. 2), McLeodganj (Ward No. 3), Kashmir House (Ward No. 4), Khjanchai Mohalla (Ward No 5), Kotwali Bazaar (Ward No. 6), Secretariat (Ward No. 7), Sports Complex (Ward No. 8), Sakoh (Ward No. 9), Shayam Nagar (Ward No. 10), Ram Nagar (Ward No. 11), Barol (Ward No. 12), Dari (Ward No. 13), Kand (Ward No. 14), Khaniyara (Ward No. 15), Sidhpur (Ward No.16 ) and Sidhbari (Ward No. 17).

The Dharamsala municipal council had a population of just about 22,000. However, with the inclusion of eight adjoining villages, the population of the Municipal Corporation has increased to more than 50,000.

The minister said the increase in the area would help in developing the master plan of Dharamsala for the Smart City project. The government would submit the proposal to develop Dharamsala as Smart City with the Government of India by December 15. We hope that Dharamsala would be selected among top 20 smart cities of the country that shall receive grants from the Union government in the first phase, he said.

He said under the Smart City project, new planned townships were likely to be developed while new areas would get improved facilities.