A section of councillors has demanded the delimitation of all 17 wards of the the Solan Municipal Corporation (MC) to ensure uniform development. The 17 wards were carved out on the basis of the 2011 Census and a population of 8,162 was added from eight peripheral panchayats to the MC in October 2020 to upgrade it to a municipal corporation. These eight panchayats — Anji, Kotho, Chambaghat, Saproon, Padag, Basal, Salogra and Kather — were partially merged with the civic body. The area under the jurisdiction of this municipal corporation is 11.624 sq km.
The population of 17 wards was 47,418 with Ward number six having the lowest population of 2,567 persons while ward number eight has the highest population of 3422 persons. There was a difference of 855 in the two wards, thus necessitating the need to carry out delimitation.
“The population has grown exponentially in the past 14 years, leading to uneven population in various wards. Some wards are also geographically larger than others, making it difficult to ensure uniform development in all wards at a time when funds are scarce,” rue the councillors.
In a representation to Solan Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma, councillors Sushma Sharma from Ward number 2, Pooja from Ward number 7, Seema from Ward number 16 and Rajiv Kaura from Ward number 14 have demanded the delimitation of various wards. The councillors have contended that since the panchayats were partially merged with the civic body, the population in several wards was far from being equal.
Deputy Mayor Meera Anand, in a separate representation to the Deputy Commissioner, has communicated other problems mentioning that a portion of Ward number 13 was added to Ward number 12, which was posing problems. She has demanded the reversal of the arrangement.
The State Election Commission has already directed the officials concerned to complete the delimitation process in the newly carved out urban local bodies like nagar panchayats and municipal corporations by the month-end as their elections are slated to take place in December. In Solan, this process is underway for the newly upgraded Baddi Municipal Corporation and Kunihar nagar panchayat.
The Deputy Commissioner confirmed that a representation has been received from some councillors of the Solan MC. He said that the SDM had been directed to examine the issue and do the needful.
The five-year term of the Solan MC expires in March 2026.
