The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) claims to be committed to facilitating development and beautification in the State capital, but the condition of its own official compound presents a picture of neglect with its office buildings lacking repair and maintenance.
The MCD is responsible for the sanitation arrangement of the city, but the officials appear apathetic towards the lack of sanitation in the municipal office compound. Garbage can often be seen lying in the open in the municipal compound. The washrooms here are also in a degenerated condition and are not cleaned on a regular basis leading to foul smell. Most of the doors of these washrooms are also broken and do not close properly.
Similarly, the Central hall in the building where the MCD board meetings are conducted is in a neglected state. No separate washroom facility is available for male and female councillors in the meeting hall.
A source at MCD on the condition of anonymity revealed that after repeated reminders given to the sanitation staff at MCD, they don't bother to clean the washrooms and the compound. He also said that somewhere the senior municipal officials are also responsible for the worsening sanitation level of the compound as they don’t act strictly with the sanitation staff and other employees to redress these irregularities.
The Tax Section at MCD was last renovated and painted around 10 years back and there is little chance of it being renovated in the near future. In what appears to be a mere formality, the main building of the municipal corporation is painted either yearly or sometimes once in two years but the condition of the neighbouring office blocks is worsening with each passing day and officials seem unconcerned. During the rains, the damaged condition of the buildings poses problems for the staff and visiting public, said a municipal employee.
However, the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari at MCD, Ashok Kumar stated, “Around four years back a proposal regarding renovation of the MCD building was forwarded to the State Government. A budget of about Rs 37 lakh was also proposed. However, in response the State Government stated that MCD should solely bear the maintenance and renovation responsibility of its compound or should go for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode to renovate the building,” averred Kumar.
He also said that renovating the MCD building at a cost of Rs 37 lakh would be too expensive for the corporation. He said, “We don’t want any kind of luxurious facilities at MCD but aim to maintain the office in a simpler way.”