Various proposals related to property tax, slum settlements, civic and development works, among other proposals, were passed at the board meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) on Thursday with just about a dozen members being present as most of the BJP and Congress councillors boycotted the meeting in protest against alleged anomalies in the MCD.
Chairing the board meet, Mayor Vinod Chamoli said that since a quorum of 50 members is needed for passing special resolutions, the proposal for revised rates of various licenses issued by the corporation was deferred to the next board meet.
However, various other proposals were passed. The board passed the proposal for cent per cent rebate in property tax to parents and spouses of freedom-fighters and those who laid down their lives in the Uttarakhand Statehood movement though this will not be applicable if the property is being rented or being put to commercial use.
Twenty five per cent rebate on property tax will also be given to former and present municipal head, councillors and municipal employees on their homes. On the issue of absence of registry and other documents for old properties in populated areas, it was decided that the department would draft a proposal for the means to be adopted for property tax within 15 days and get it approved by the MCD executive.
It was also decided that while slum settlements away from riverbeds and not categorised as encroachments will be surveyed for property tax while clearance will be sought from the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) for settlements on or near riverbeds. The board also approved the recommendation for renaming Kargi Chowk, the Nityanand Swami Kisan Chowk.
The 19 applications already listed for free land allotment to freedom-fighters and new applications will be checked, to facilitate allotment with .272 hectare land being marked for this at Kandoli. Referring to the Zebra Force of the corporation working against encroachment, the Mayor pointed out that the force had been doing good work and had made a difference.
The board approved the proposal for the corporation taking up the payment of monthly salaries to the eight Home Guards deputed to the Zebra Force. The proposal for issuing an NOC for construction of a road from Patelnagar police station to Haridwar bypass was also approved in addition to the revised annual budget for 2014-15.
The board also approved other proposals including Rs 1.5 crore renovation budget for the Gandhi Park to the put up at the District Planning Committee meeting. Chamoli also sought proposals for development works in the ward to be submitted for budgetary allocation in the DPC meeting. A presentation on the major cases of municipal land encroachment was also made by the officials. On the issue of encroachment, the Mayor directed officials to pursue the cases effectively, erect information boards on encroached lands and also make a list of the FIRs lodged in land encroachment cases.