Bylaw notification lapse costs Solan MC crores

The Solan Municipal Corporation’s (MC) move to generate revenue by penalising unauthorised hoardings has suffered a setback as the High Court quashed the penalties imposed in the absence of notified bylaws. Several private entities were fined for erecting hoardings in Solan, a step aimed at bolstering the financially strained civic body.

The bylaws to regulate hoardings were originally framed in 2008 when the civic body was a municipal council. However, these regulations were never officially notified in the gazette, making them legally unenforceable. The civic body was upgraded to a municipal corporation in 2023, and the bye-laws were eventually published in the official gazette on February 10, 2023. Under the newly notified norms, unauthorised hoardings attract a penalty of Rs 10,000, with an additional Rs 500 per day for continued violations.

Before the official notification, the MC imposed penalties amounting to Rs 30 lakh on three major entities, which subsequently challenged the fines in court. The court ruled that penalties could not be enforced before September 2022, when the bylaws were formally recognised. However, it permitted the MC to recover penalties from violators post-September 2022.

The issue sparked heated discussions in a recent general house meeting, with both the Congress and the BJP blaming each other for the failure to notify the bylaws on time. The BJP is pushing for accountability, questioning why the regulations framed in 2008 were never published. BJP councillor Shailendra Gupta criticised the lapse, stating that major businesses were penalised under now-invalid rules. He also raised concerns over whether previously paid penalties would be refunded.

Mayor Usha Sharma defended the Congress-led MC, arguing that the BJP had multiple opportunities to notify the bye-laws before 2020. She maintained that the Congress had acted promptly by ensuring notification in 2022 and that penalties would now be collected as per the new norms.

With the MC set to lose several crores due to this oversight, questions remain about whether accountability will be fixed for the lapse. The cash-strapped civic body, already struggling financially, faces another setback as political disputes overshadow efforts to streamline revenue collection.