Thursday, 30 march 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Dehradun Mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ on Wednesday refuted all claims of illegally amassing assets that he allegedly acquired after becoming Mayor. He said that all these claims by opposition party leaders are bogus and they should first look into their illegally amassed properties.
In a Press conference organised in the premises of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD), ‘Gama’ said that he has acquired most of his properties before he became the mayor as he has been working since he was 18 and did quite well as a contractor too before he decided to contest elections. He said, “I started working at the age of 18 and bought some properties till 2012 as many people do as an investment for the future. I have also worked as a contractor with several government bodies and did quite well financially at that time too. I got all my licenses cancelled as well after I was elected as the mayor of Dehradun.” He said that he has no unaccountable properties and pays hefty taxes to the government like every citizen. “I had declared all of my assets worth nearly Rs 2.25 crore before the last MCD elections. Many of whom I have already sold and bought some new ones which were not possibly presented in the RTI report on the basis of which opposition is targeting me. One should also consider the hike in the prices of the properties since 2018,” said ‘Gama’.
He said that people should also consider that he is not the only earning member in his family as his wife and children also earn and invest in properties. He said that some people are also spreading baseless rumours against him of being an owner of a petrol pump which is also false. Responding to the issue of taking land on lease from Darbar Sahib, ‘Gama’ said, “I appealed to Mahant Devendra Dass in 2012 to give me a small piece of land to build a shop and he gave me a plot on lease. I do not understand why this is being associated with properties I acquired after becoming mayor. I also have a loan of Rs 1.50 crore but opposition party members would not mention it because it does not serve their purpose.”An RTI by Dehradun-based advocate and RTI activist Vikesh Negi revealed that the mayor’s assets have allegedly increased at least 10 times in the past five years. Congress has also demanded a CBI inquiry against ‘Gama’ in the case.
