A year on, Baddi-Barotiwala yet to be upgraded to corpn

Ambika Sharma

Solan, January 14

Little headway has been made in upgrading the industrial cluster of Baddi-Barotiwala into a municipal corporation even a year after the exercise had begun.

The Chief Minister had made this announcement after holding a review meeting of the Urban Development and Town and Country Planning Departments on December 29, 2022. Two other municipal corporations were also supposed to be set up in Una and Hamirpur, according to his announcement.

Though a proposal to convert the civic bodies of Baddi and Barotiwala and 24 panchayats into a municipal corporation was also chalked out by the previous BJP government, it could not be implemented following objections by the villagers.

The BJP government had put the proposal on hold fearing electoral losses.

Since the working of the two civic authorities and panchayats is being looked after by multiple agencies, their integration into a corporation would speed up development activities.

The Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh (BBN) Industries Association has also been raising this demand since 2019 in a bid to secure central funding for upgrading the infrastructure of this key industrial cluster. More than 90 per cent of the state’s industry is located in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh belt, said BBNIA president Rajeev Aggarwal.

Though a proposal to convert the entire BBN into a corporation was also mooted during the BJP tenure, it could not materialise as people objected fearing imposition of stringent building byelaws and levy of taxes.

Locals said that they will have to get building maps approved for every big or small construction, besides paying additional taxes. The move will only help investors. The local residents will have to forgo the benefits of programmes sponsored by the Central Government like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme meant for rural areas, if their villages are merged into the proposed corporation.

Director Urban Development Gopal Sharma said the proposal was pending with the district administration yet. Additional Deputy Commissioner, Solan, Ajay Yadav, said: “There has been no progress in the issue concerning upgrade of Baddi-Barotiwala into a municipal corporation.”

Local residents against move

• Locals feel that the formation of a municipal corporation will add to their hardships as they will have to get building maps approved for every big or small construction, besides paying additional taxes. The move will only help investors, they say.
• The residents will have to forgo the benefits of programmes sponsored by the Central Government like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme meant for rural areas, if their villages are merged into the proposed corporation.