Development works hit as Solan MC sans regular Commissioner

Ambika Sharma

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Solan, October 5

Development works in the areas under jurisdiction of the Solan Municipal Corporation have been lagging behind due to the absence of a regular Commissioner. For the last two months, the post has been assigned as an additional charge.

The position is being held on an additional basis by Sonakshi Tomar from September 26 after Zaffar Iqbal, who is Additional Deputy Commissioner of Solan district and is additionally holding the charge of Solan MC Commissioner, proceeded on leave from September 26 to October 10.

Interestingly, five commissioners, including two who also had other posts, have been appointed as Commissioners ever since the city was upgrade from municipal council to Municipal Corporation in September 2020.

This has adversely hit the development activities and both the staff as well as the residents are suffering.

Terming it as an apathy of the state government, Deputy Mayor, Rajiv Kaura, said, “Various developmental works in the MC as well as tendering works for key projects such as construction of parking lots have been hit due to absence of a regular Commissioner.”

He added that very few works, which had been decided in the proceedings of the General House of the MC, were being executed. Though the state government had been emphasising the need to hold monthly meetings but absence of a Commissioner had paralyzed all work, he remarked.

Residents of the city said they were not getting their building maps approved on time as officials holding regular charge could not spare adequate time for the MC work. Moreover, the e-office project hasn’t been started despite investing lakhs.

Opposition leaders in the city said since the MC was held by the Congress, absence of a regular Commissioner could be a deliberate tactic by the ruling BJP-led government to stall development works.

Sources said the previous Commissioner Rajiv Kumar might had been transferred as he took a tough stance on unauthorised constructions. Earlier, Prashant Sirkek was appointed on the position on September 2020 but was transferred in seven months. He was then replaced by LR Verma, who joined in March 2021 but was transferred in January 2022. Rajiv Kumar was the next in line who was transferred in July.