Lone XEN shifted, building maps await Dharamsala MC's nod

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, October 24

The shortage of staff is hampering the working of the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation (MC).

Building maps submitted by residents to the MC for approval are piling up as the lone Executive Engineer (XEN) with the local body was transferred over two months ago and the government has provided no replacement so far. Dharamsala Mayor Onkar Nehria said about 250 maps for buildings were awaiting approval.

The civic body was upgraded from a municipal council to a corporation in 2015. After that, eight villages around Dharamsala city were merged into the corporation limits. That increased the area of the Dharamsala urban body many times while the population also increased from about 21,000 to more than 50,000.

It has been about eight years since the Dharamsala MC was formed, but it is still functioning with the same staff as was available earlier while it was a council. The previous Congress and the BJP governments did not provide additional staff to the corporation despite repeated requests.

The Dharamsala MC passed a resolution recently and sought the immediate sanctioning of 37 posts of engineer, sanitary inspector and clerical staff for the smooth functioning of the urban body, the sources told The Tribune.

An official of the urban body said they did not have even 10 per cent staff as compared to the Shimla MC. Due to the shortage of staff, the daily functioning of the civic body was getting affected.

The Palampur MC is also facing staff shortage. The urban body was upgraded to a MC during the rule of the BJP government in 2020.

Staff crunch in Palampur MC too

• The Palampur Municipal Corporation is also facing staff shortage. The urban body was upgraded to a MC during the rule of the previous BJP government in 2020.
• The area of the civic body increased many times as many villages around the city were merged into it. However, no additional staff was given to manage the additional area.
• Mayor Poonam Bali says they have written to the government to sanction 31 additional posts to the corporation, but the proposal is still pending.