Under ‘Smart City Mission’, Shimla civic body to propose monorail to benefit tourists, locals

The Shimla Municipal Corporation will propose setting up a monorail service in the city under the ‘Smart City Mission’ this year. Mayor Satya Kaundal announced this during the annual budget meeting of the corporation held Thursday.

A monorail will attract more tourists, benefit local commuters, and increase the corporation’s income, she said in her speech.

“It’s so far only an idea and we’re yet to work out the proposal. We will first invite some companies to conduct feasibility studies and then hopefully float tenders for the project within the next two years to meet the Smart City Mission deadline,” Shimla Deputy Mayor Shalinder Chauhan told The Indian Express.

He said that the Sanjauli tunnel to IGMC hospital, Chhota Shimla to Lal & Sons and Chaura Maidan to CTO are some of the routes where a monorail can be set up. “If the public supports the project, I’m sure it can take off,” he added.

In her budget speech, the mayor also suggested introducing a ‘green tax’ on vehicles coming to Shimla from other states, which may bring an annual income of Rs 15 crore to the corporation. Other suggestions for increasing the local body’s income included increasing the liquor cess from Rs 2 to Rs 5 per bottle and the electricity cess from 10 paise per unit to 20 paise per unit. Kaundal also suggested imposing a fee of Rs 5 on each courier coming into the city, saying that courier deliveries by big companies are causing losses to local shopkeepers who pay tax and a licence fee to the MC.

She said that the Shimla MC House is set to become a “high-tech paperless house” with an e-house software system which is expected to roll out next month. She further said that the waste-to-energy plant at Bharyal treats around 85 to 90 tonnes of garbage daily. Around 10,000 tonnes of refuse-derived fuel obtained from the garbage has been sent to two cement plants in the state so far, where the RDF is being used to generate electricity on an experimental basis, she said.

The mayor added that under the stray dog adoption programme, 132 dogs were adopted by individuals and 80 dogs adopted by communities during 2020-21. Around 10-12 stray cattle have been provided shelter at the cow shelter in Boileauganj, she said.