Looking for ways to increase Shimla Municipal Corporation income

SHIMLA, the ‘Queen of Hills’, is a pale shadow of its glorious past when it was the summer seat of the British Empire. The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) is one of the oldest municipalities which faces the onerous task of balancing development with heritage conservation. Being a popular tourist destination, the town’s civic amenities are under tremendous strain to cater to the locals and tourist population, within the limited resources.

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New projects

Jakhu temple escalator will be ready by March. Lifts at Auckland, Middle Bazaar and Vikasnagar will be completed by June. Sky walk in Chhota Shimla is also nearing completion. — Surinder Chauhan, SMC MAYOR

The Mayor of SMC Surinder Chauhan shared his vision for the town and outlined the initiatives that will be rolled out in an interview with Navneet Rathore. Excerpts:

A majority of the people feel that Shimla has lost its old glory and has turned into a concrete jungle. How are you planning to overcome this challenge?

No doubt that Shimla is turning into a concrete jungle in recent years and a lot of construction has taken place. Initiatives like Shimla Carnival will give a boost to the tourism activities besides helping maintain beauty of the town.

Deodar is the identity of Shimla and we must do all that it takes to protect and ensure regeneration of these trees. People should be responsible citizens and must not spit or litter even though there is a provision for a fine. Though plastic is banned in the state, we should ensure that it is not used at all as it harms the environment.

The threat of Shimla facing water shortage due to less rain and snow in summers is looming large. How do you plan to cope with it?

Shimla and its adjoining areas have many fresh water sources from where water will be sourced and filtered. We are also increasing the water storage capacity. We are making a water tank at Dhalli having 5 MLD storage capacity. A water tank is being made near Peterhoff having a capacity of 4 MLD. We are also working on providing 24×7 water for which tenders have been floated.

There is a 9 MLD tank in Seog in Charabbra that was built by the Britishers but it is not functional anymore. We are trying to revive it.

You have been the Mayor for the past seven months now. What challenges did your predecessors leave for you?

I would not like to criticise anyone as I believe that everyone did a great job. I had also organised a conference of all the past Mayors and Deputy Mayors of the town beyond the party lines and took their suggestions. I also received a positive response from them and I received several suggestions from them. My priority is to focus on my works by putting 100 per cent efforts instead of criticising anyone.

Chief Minister has stated that the state is facing financial constraints. Is this impacting works of the SMC?

No, we get all our grants from the state and the central government from time to time. We are also looking for ways to increase the income of the Shimla Municipal Corporation. We are also bringing reforms in the Municipal Corporation.

The rains damaged many buildings, which we will declare as unsafe and dangerous. We would like to revert to old system of making the retaining walls of stones and not allowing construction of drainage and nullahs.

What are the developmental works being undertaken by SMC?

The Jakhu temple escalator will be ready by March and Rivoli bus stand will also be ready. Lifts at Auckland, Middle Bazaar and Vikasnagar will complete by June. Sky walk in Chhota Shimla is also nearing completion. Parking slots for about 2000 vehicles will be made near SDA Complex, IGMC, Auckland Tunnel and Vikasnagar.

There is a dire need to work on addressing the problem of traffic congestion in the town. A flyover is being built near Vidhan Sabha as well as in Boileauganj, which will ease the congestion.