Wednesday, 12 July 2023 | Pioneer Interview
The mayor of the biggest municipal corporation of the State Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ is about to complete his five-year tenure in Dehradun. He has taken several major decisions in these years for the development of the city, especially regarding sanitation and revenue generation. In an interaction with Purnima Bisht of The Pioneer, ‘Gama’ talked about his journey and his future plans for the city.
You are about to complete five years as the mayor of Dehradun. How do you see your term?
I feel proud that I got an opportunity to serve the city and the people here. There were several challenges when I was elected as the mayor like 40 new wards were brought under the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) and we had to work from scratch for their development. The State government had also exempted the residential bodies there from property tax for 10 years, which is the main source of income of the corporation. Despite that, we carried out development works equally in all wards. The corporation allocated an equal budget for all wards and the development work done there is visible to all today. The corporation also received over Rs 800 crore from the Centre for the development of 11 wards that fall in areas like Dharamapur and Doiwala and significant development works have been done there in the past five years. We have installed 60,000 new LED street lights worth Rs 35 crore and erected 6,000 electric poles worth over Rs 10 crore.
What changes have you witnessed during this period in terms of sanitation conditions in the city?
Sanitation is one of the main focus of the corporation and the condition has certainly improved in recent times. People are more aware of sanitation related matters today. When I was elected as the mayor, Dehradun was ranked 384th in Swachchh Survekshan. It secured 69th rank last year. It took real hard work to achieve this position besides the cooperation of citizens. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has motivated multitudes across the country including myself through his Swachhata Mission and I try to take this message forward among the citizens here. We have also taken action against hundreds of bulk waste generators for not disposing of garbage as per the norms. The quantity of garbage disposed of in the solid waste management and recycling plant in Sheeshambada was crossing its processing capacity due to which the MCD had to take this initiative. We are also constantly working on making door to door services efficient in all wards.
New wards were included under MCD but the lack of sanitation staff is still a major issue. Has the corporation sought any help from the government for this?
We have made Paryavaran committees in every ward to ensure sanitation work can be carried out efficiently. We have also deployed about 900 additional sanitation workers but yes, the corporation does need more sanitation workers. We have approached the State government regarding this issue and are awaiting their response.
What are your expectations regarding Swachchh Survekshan 2023?
I aim to get Dehradun into the top 50 cleanest cities in the country but a few circumstances this year have not been in favour of the corporation. Some agencies handling sanitation works in wards were changed this year which also took a toll on sanitation conditions in some wards. We were also planning to initiate some works regarding sanitation but they could not be carried out due to heavy rain. These factors might affect the ranking this year but I am certain that the city will sustain its 69th rank. We will also continue to make efforts to get into the top 50 cities in SS23.
Property tax collection is one of the main sources of revenue for MCD. What steps are being taken to maximise the revenue?
The annual revenue collected by MCD via property tax was Rs 17 crore about five years which has now reached Rs 52 crore. We have taken several steps to increase the property tax collection. We also set up camps and have introduced various modes of online payment to make it easy for people to submit taxes from anywhere across the country. We aim to collect Rs 75 crore in property tax this financial year.
What other initiatives are being taken to increase MCD’s revenue?
Recently we sent a detailed project report to the state administration to develop Niranjanpur’s pond as a multifaceted tourism centre. Several projects are under our consideration to make the corporation more self-reliant as we have very limited means of income to spend on development projects.
What are the major challenges for MCD at present?
The management of garbage and street lights are major challenges. Officials of other departments are still involved in other works like drain cleaning and waterlogging among others to some extent but MCD is considered to be solely responsible for tackling both these issues that need consistent work and monitoring.
Opposition parties have accused you of acquiring disproportionate assets after becoming tge mayor. What is your response to this?
I have no unaccountable properties. I have disclosed all my property details to the government and pay my due taxes like every citizen. Even before becoming the mayor, I was a contractor and did quite well financially. These are nothing more than bogus accusations for mere political gains.
