By Our Staff Reporter
Nainital, 18 Sep: Hearing a petition alleging irregularities regarding allocation of Nagar Nigam hoardings in Dehradun, the Nainital High Court today sought a report from the state government informing about the course of action taken on an investigative report submitted by Dehradun Municipal Corporation (Doon Nagar Nigam) in this regard. The government has been given four weeks’ time to file its report.
The petition has been filed by Congress leader Abhinav Thapar alleging irregularities in the tendering process of hoardings and uni-poles in Dehradun.
The case was heard today by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal. It asked what action was taken regarding the order of the High Court on the investigative report submitted before the government by the Municipal Corporation.
During the hearing in the Nainital High Court, it was claimed on behalf of the Dehradun Nagar Nigam that, in pursuance of the direction given by the court, the corporation constituted an investigative committee and, after the inquiry, it had submitted the report to the government. The Nagar Nigam also admitted that, so far, no action has been taken on the report.
Following this, the court has directed the government to submit a report about the action taken. The next hearing in the case will now be held on 3 December.
Speaking to Garhwal Post, the petitioner, Abhinav Thapar, who is a Congress leader in Dehradun, claimed that, between the years 2013 and 2023, many irregularities have taken place in the tendering process of hoardings and unipoles. He also claimed that, as a result of this irregularity, the Nagar Nigam has suffered a revenue loss of about Rs 300 crores. He reminded that he had filed a complaint regarding “this irregularity” before the Doon Mayor as well as Secretary, Urban Development, on 11 August, last year, seeking a response on who had collected the revenue for 325 “illegal hoardings” put up in Dehradun. He had also demanded an inquiry into this but, so far, neither the Municipal Corporation nor the state government has taken any action on his complaint.
Thapar also reminded that, in the year 2019, the Doon Nagar Nigam had constituted a committee and also conducted a survey of all hoardings and uni-poles installed in the city and, in this survey, 325 hoardings were found to have been illegally installed. However no further action was taken. Thapar also shared that he has urged the court through his PIL to direct the government to investigate the allegations and take appropriate action.
The Municipal Corporation also informed the court that it had set up an inquiry committee on 2 July, which has already submitted its report to the government on the irregularities in the hoarding tender. The Court today asked the government to file an action taken report before the court by 3 December when the case will come up for next hearing.
