With the advent of the monsoon season not far, councillors state that the officials of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun are not preparing for the season properly. Recounting past experiences in the city the councillors stated that the damaged patches on the roads turn to dangerous potholes during the rains.
The citizens face the consequences of the apathetic attitude of the officials. Even after the mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ approved Rs two lakh to each councillor for road patchwork in their wards no work has been started so far, they alleged. On the other hand, the municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey stated that the councillors had failed to give any proposal, as a result of which the patchwork has not been started.
It is pertinent to mention that any fund will only be released to the councillors after an inspection by the junior engineers (JEs). However, even after the area under MCD has expanded from 60 to 100 wards the corporation has only four JEs. Councillors also alleged that not a single appoint to any post has been made in MCD in the past four months despite assurances. Due to this, the burden of work has increased on the limited number of employees.
Councillor from Aryanagr, Bhupendra Singh Kathait added, “The monsoon season is likely to start next month but MCD has done nothing for the patchwork on the roads. Hardly 20 days are left for the advent of monsoon so it seems unlikely that this work will be completed on time.”
Councillor from Rest Camp, Archana Kapoor said, “The budget for patchwork has not been released as MCD lacks proper staff. It seems impossible for the MCD to complete the patchwork on time.”
Dismissing the entire blame, the municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said, “We haven’t received any proposal yet so the work has not been started so far. As soon as proposals are given the patchwork will start. Also, appointing JEs and other employees is still a problem even for us. Something regarding this will be done soon.”
Mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ said, “We are facing the shortage of employees — not only JEs but sanitation workers as well. Nearly 400 appointments will be done soon.”