Solan MC general house on Oct 26
The Solan Municipal Corporation (MC) will hold general house meeting on October 26, the first since the byelection for a vacant councillor seat on September 30. The meeting, which typically takes place quarterly, had been delayed due to the imposition of the model code of conduct. The house last met in July, followed by a special session in August, according to Solan MC Commissioner Ekta Kapta.
This upcoming session marks the first general house for newly elected councillor Amardeep. The Congress holds the Mayor’s post, while the Deputy Mayor is a BJP councillor, leading to frequent clashes between the two parties. The BJP has been vocal about the delay in convening the general house since July.
A key issue on the agenda is revising the rent for 236 shops rented out by the MC at nominal rates decades ago. These shops, located in prominent areas like Mall Road, Rajgarh Road and Chowk Bazar, earn as little as Rs 50 per month, with many tenants failing to pay regularly. The MC is reassessing the value of these properties to boost revenue as it struggles to cover its expenditures.
Other issues to be discussed include granting permission for civil works to 11 vendors operating in the Saproon vendor market. The MC is also grappling with a fiscal deficit of Rs 14.27 crore, while its projected income for the current financial year is Rs 179.48 crore. A significant portion of the MC’s budget is consumed by monthly salary payments, amounting to Rs 1 crore. The MC continues to face challenges in collecting garbage and water taxes, with many residents delaying their payments.
The October 26 session will focus on ratifying issues approved in previous meetings and tackling the financial and administrative problems currently faced by the civic body.
Other key agendas like bringing the housing colony of the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority at Basal under its purview would also be deliberated upon during the general house.
A key issue of constructing a transport nagar at New Kather, which was pending since years, finalising fee for setting up canopies within the civic body area, constituting a biodiversity committee, setting up a retaining wall at Salogra-based waste disposal facility and waiving off the rent of allotted booths at vendor market would also be taken up in the house, informed Ekta Kapta.
