Harak Singh Rawat assumed charge as the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari at the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun on Friday. He was welcomed by municipal officials and councillors on the occasion. While Rawat will be facing various challenges in execution of his responsibilities as the MNA in MCD, municipal officials, councillors and even the Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli are hopeful that his return to the corporation will help improve the functioning of the MCD which is struggling to execute its responsibilities effectively while facing staff shortage and government apathy.
It is pertinent to mention here that Rawat has worked as the additional MNA at the MCD in the past so is well acquainted with the functioning of the corporation and the problems faced here. He was transferred from the post of additional district magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Haridwar to the post of MNA in MCD. The post of MNA in the corporation was without an official occupying it full time since the previous MNA Ashok Kumar was transferred in March earlier this year. The major challenges facing the MNA are facilitating the desired level of civic sanitation and timely completion of the JNNURM funded solid waste management project, tackling encroachment on land owned by the MCD and facilitating execution of various projects and decisions of the MCD board. The corporation is facing a shortage of funds and staff with two posts of Sahayak Nagar Adhikari, one executive engineer and four territory inspectors being vacant while only one of the two posts of senior city health officer is occupied on part time basis- the other being unoccupied.