Municipal Council of Kangra
Local self governments are different from other branches of administration in that they generally work in close contact with the residents of the area. The Municipal Council of Kangra is no exception to that. It started as an Existing Committee in 1883. It was then promoted as Small Town Committee in 1923 and a Municipal Committee in 1955. Finally in 1996, it was re-designated as Municipal Council.
The Directorate of Urban Development
Although Kangra Municipal Council is an independent body elected by the citizens of the town, it has to work according to the rules enacted by the Directorate of Urban Development. The aforesaid body was established in 1985-86 by the government of Himachal Pradesh to direct, control and monitor activities of all local self governments under its jurisdiction. Accordingly, it monitors the administrative, legislative and development activities of Kangra Municipal Council from close quarters.Function of the Kangra Municipal Council
According to the directives set by the Directorate of Urban Development, the responsibility assigned to the Kangra Municipal Council is manifold. For example, it has to construct, maintain, improve, repair and clean all public roads, buildings and parks. It also has to see that all roads under its jurisdiction are properly lighted. Moreover, it is also the responsibility of the Municipal Council to supply adequate drinking water to the citizens and build schools, dispensaries, hospitals etc for their benefit.In fact, the Municipal Council of Kangra lays special emphasis on education and health of the citizens. It also lays stress on overall development of the town and to create employment opportunities for the youth and also for the ladies. Other duties of the Municipal Council of Kangra are as follows:
- Removal of garbage from the public places
- Setting up waste management projects to turn the garbage into compost
- Maintenance of places of public utility such as markets, water bodies, rest houses etc
- Registration of births, deaths and marriages taking place within its jurisdiction
- Arranging public vaccinations and all other sanitary measures
- Taking up census, making arrangements for fairs and exhibitions etc
Municipal Wards in Kangra
In order to discharge their duties, the Municipal Council in Kangra has divided the city into nine wards, each of which has a separate name. Following are the names and numbers of each ward; the phone numbers of the councilors of each ward have also been provided in the list:- Ward No 1: Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Library: 94594-34181
- Ward No 2: Labheshwar Mahadev: 98053-64954
- Ward No 3: Ujjari Mahadev: 94188-31700
- Ward No 4: Gupta Ganga: 88942-78311
- Ward No 5: Mission: 93187-95364
- Ward No 6: Shakti Gali: 98163-16827
- Ward No 7: Brajeshwar Devi: 94189-87091
- Ward No 8: Arya Samaj: 94591-00015
- Ward No 9: Tehsil: 98053-54436
The Citizen’s Charter
The Municipal Council of Kangra has taken out a charter defining its purpose and function. Under this charter the Council has declared that it will collect garbage from the public places everyday and remove carcasses within 12 hours. If that is not done, one may complain to the Council and action will be taken within 24 hours. In case of other complains, a minimum fee will be charged; but it will be attended to within two days.Contrarily, births and deaths can be registered at the Municipal Council free of charge if it is done within 21 days. After that a nominal fees will have to be paid. However, to receive the birth or death certificate one will have to pay a nominal charge of Rs. 50 and Rs. 60 respectively.
The Charter also declares that all bills will be issued on monthly basis and one is expected to pay the same within 10 days. Moreover, in case the bill is paid within 10 day, one can expect to receive 20% rebate on the bill. Contrarily, if the bill is not paid within stipulated time, one has to pay a surcharge of 10%.
Taxes and other charges levied by the Municipal Council
Indeed, without the full cooperation of the people, no municipal council can discharge its full responsibility. It is expected that the people will pay their taxes and other dues in time. Following are the different charges levied by Municipal Corporation:- House Tax: @ 12.5%
- Dog Tax: Rs. 50 per year
- Tax on consumption of electricity: 1 paisa per unit
- Building Application Fees: In case of residential buildings, the fees is Rs. 2.50 per sq meter and in case of commercial buildings it is Rs. 5.00 per sq meter
- Copying Fess: Rs 25 / 50/ 100
- Tehbazari Fees: Rs. 20 per day
- Slaughter House Fees: Rs. 10 per animal
- Tax on Advertisement on Signboards: Rs. 300 per sq meter per annum
- Tax on Sale of Liquor: Rs. 1 per bottle
- Birth Certificate Fees: Rs 50
- Death Certificate Fees: Rs. 25
- Ration Card Fees: Rs. 50 under general quota and Rs. 25 under BPL quota
- NOC for Water Connection: Rs. 100 per NOC
- NOC for Electricity Connection: Rs 100 per NOC
- Sanitation Charges: Rs 20 per day from vegetable and fruit sellers on national highway
- Tree Felling Charges: Rs 50 per tree
Assets belonging to the Municipal Council
It may be noted that the Municipal Council of Kangra does not levy any trade license fees. That is because the aim of the council is to create employment opportunity for the people here. Contrarily it depends more on other forms of taxes and rents. For example, the Council has a large number of properties from which it gets regular income. These properties include 86 shops, 42 sites, 6 rooms, 2 entire buildings, 1 hall and 16 iron khokhas.Besides the above mentioned assets, the Council has number of removable and non-removable assets. For full information, you can either visit their website or approach the Executive Officer of Kangra Municipal Council under Right to Information Act.