Shimla: Having been unable to ever win the Shimla municipal poll, BJP lashed out at Congress over having mismanaged the civic body for 25 years, where the MC properties had shrunk, bills for providing civic amenities had piled up and residents were facing problems on many accounts.
With polls scheduled for May 27, legislator Suresh Bhardwaj lashed out at the mismanagement of the municipal corporation.
Speaking to reporters, he said many issues have been hanging fire for several years and neither the corporation nor previous Congress governments when in power had paid heed to them in the last 25 years.
The water bill alone that the MC owes to the irrigation and public health department has crossed Rs 100 crore, Bhardwaj claimed.
He said to that the Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal government had amended the rules to the Country and Town Planning Act so as to provide relief to those house owners who wanted their properties to be regularized in accordance with the building laws by paying compounding fees for any deviations that have taken place.
The BJP government had also approved the Shimla Development Plan, something that had not been done for decades, he said.
Relief also had been provided to empty residential plots sandwiched in belts that were declared green areas later by permitting them to construct houses. he added.
Speaking about the party’s preparations for the civic poll, he said that unlike congress, no applications from prospective candidates had been invited but the ward committees and party cadres had been asked to throw up a panel of worthy candidates who also held winning prospects.
The final decision of picking the candidates for Mayor, deputy mayor and councilor candidates would rest with the state election committee and would be declared on May 5, said Bhardwaj.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
