Dharamsala MC grapples with staff shortage

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, August 26

The Dharamsala Municipal Council was upgraded to a corporation in 2015 during the Congress government regime. Eight villages were merged with the corporation area, which increased the population from 22,000 to 50,000.

Dharamsala was upgraded from a council to a corporation to make it to the list of smart cities. But even after two years, the local body is short of staff.

The civic authorities had demanded 67 additional posts from the state government. Municipal Commissioner Sandeep Kadam had written to the state government in March this year, seeking 31 ministerial and engineering posts. However, nothing has been done to date. Kadam admitted that he had written to the state government, seeking additional posts. At present, there is just one Executive Engineer and an SDO in the corporation. “The two officials ensure that the municipal Act is followed by building owners. They approve maps of new buildings, deviations in old buildings and carry out construction work in the corporation area,” sources said.

The area of the corporation has increased, but there is nobody to carry out sanitation works. There is just one sanitary supervisor. In new panchayat areas, merged with the corporation, residents have been complaining about lack of sanitation. The Municipal Commissioner said the corporation would soon invite tenders for sanitation works.

The sources said the corporation had developed new softwares for online deposition of property tax and other types of facilities, but did not have the IT staff.

A doctor from the zonal hospital has been given the additional charge of Food Safety Officer, but he is hardly available. The sources said the employees, who were on deputation here, wanted to go back to their parent departments. Staff crunch is acting as a major bottleneck in the smooth implementation of the Smart City project. Against 26 sanctioned posts under the scheme, only two officers have been deputed. The sources said the Shimla Municipal Corporation had six times more staff than Dharamsala.