In an executive committee meeting presided over by Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal 'Gama' on Thursday, several points were discussed by the committee members along with the announcement of some important decisions. One of the main purposes of the meeting was to focus on the options through which the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) can increase its revenue in future. Gama stated in the meeting that since the tourist spot Robber's Cave (Gucchupani) comes under the municipal corporation now, its earnings will be included in MCD's income too. Moreover, the mayor informed that the work of the construction of new wedding points will begin soon too which will help to raise the corporation's income.
Since the tax section was closed in the mid of March due to coronavirus pandemic, MCD will resume tax collection from June 1 for those who could not pay the property tax by March without imposing any penalty. According to municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey, the corporation is also continuing the rebate of 20 per cent to both residential and non-residential property owners. He said that the tax collection will resume from June 1 and locals can submit the tax with the said rebate till June 15. Apart from this, MCD will install about 100 electricity poles in Arcadia for the installation of street lights. The mayor also said that MCD will shortly sign an MoU with a company for the installation of 65,000 street lights in new wards.
In addition, the corporation will also begin to list all the residents in the city who fail to dispose their garbage to garbage collecting vehicles of MCD. Since the use of mask will be prevalent in the city for an indefinite period due to Covid-19, MCD is planning to set up a biomedical waste treatment plant in the city, according to Gama. He said that the procedure to set it up will begin after marking the place for the plant. Informing further about it, senior municipal health officer R K Singh said that proposal has been sent to Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) and once the corporation gets the clearance from the board, further proceedings will begin. On the demand of the councillors of suburban wards, Gama announced providing such wards with an additional Swacchata Samiti to maintain sanitation.
During the meeting, the mayor informed that he talked to the district magistrate about making a quarantine centre in Dehradun and soon the corporation will send the proposal to the State Government too.
One of the important announcements in the meeting was that MCD is planning to impose Covid-19 tax on the registered vehicles of other states on their entry in Dehradun. However, according to municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey, it is just a proposal for now and the corporation has a lot to consider before making any decision. The mayor said in the meeting that the corporation will send its proposal to the state administration too.
