The Honorable Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said that the onus and responsibility of making towns and cities in Telangana State as the ideal towns and cities in the country is on the newly elected Mayors, Chairpersons, Counsellors, Ward members and Corporators. At the State level Municipal Conference held here on Tuesday at Pragathi Bhavan, the Chief Minister gave a piece of his mind to the public representatives and educated them about duties and responsibilities. Laced with illustrations, the CM told the gathering on how public representatives should conduct themselves in the public life. While underlining the need to be steadfast to the work and achieving goals, the CM as his wont, quoted a poem from Barthruhari’s Subhshitam as translated by Yenugu Laxmana Kavi which in Telugu goes like “Arambhimparu neechamanavulu….”“You should emerge victorious while doing your duty. You will come across a variety of experiences in public life. Now, politics have become easy and simple due to the prevailing situation in the State and in the country. During the British colonial regime and later for some time, politics used to be different. Politics then used to mean facing difficulties, doing hard work, suffering jail terms and a great sacrifice, sometimes even sacrificing one’s life. After the colonial rule, in independent India, we are indulging in comfortable politics and enjoying them. In those days, it was sacrifice and giving away one’s life but now we are in independent India, and are immersed with the nation building activity. Those who understand this will get a good name and fame. It will be a great accomplishment in life, if you are good to the people. Power should not get into one’ head. Don’t aspire for the unwarranted status. Only 140 of you out of 5 crores of people have become Mayors and Chairmen. This is a rare and golden opportunity to you given by the God. This is like a stepping-stone and it all depends on how much do you scale up. You should not be flop in this endeavor” said the CM.
The “Power and position are like walking on a thin razor’s edge. Public life is not an easy one. Don’t lose your balance while discharging duties. We got Telangana State with lot of difficulties, sacrifices and hard work. We fought a relentless battle believing that we will be benefitted if we get our own State. People made me CM twice. As far as I am concerned, for me politics are upto the level of fighting election and there are no politics after that. If you closely watch the implementation of government programmes and schemes you will understand this. Mission Kakatiya and Mission Bhagiratha programmes are implemented in all the villages without any discrimination and without any scope for politics. We have implemented the programme and will continue to think that all the people are ours. Everyone belongs to us. To do any work, commitment and dedication is required. Whatever work you want to do, take it up seriously. Many people may not have the required self-confidence. But it should not be the case. Understand with awareness and take up the responsibility, if you really want to do. Then only accept the task and complete it with dedication and you shall succeed. People should have faith and repose confidence in you. If a leader wins faith and confidence of people, he or she will be totally supported by the people” said CM KCR.
The “Public representatives should not indulge in false talk. Don’t make false promises to people that you will get all the works done overnight. Prepare a proper planning to undertake any work or task. Have proper awareness on the subject. Prepare a comprehensive action Plan before plunging into the execution. Take along all the concerned. Develop towns and cities with people’s participation. Have less Photo-ops, concentrate and focus more on executing the works” said CM.
“The term Municipality has become a synonym for drainage, dirt and garbage. Baldia (Municipality) became a second name for corruption. It is often referred among the people that Baldia, Khaya, Peeya, Chaldiya (Municipality staff came, ate, drank and left). To remove the bad name, transparent policies should be adapted. There should be a non-corrupt system in place. The town’s progress should be based on proper planning. It should not be haphazard. It should be in your hands to change the towns and cities as the best ones among others in the country,” the CM remarked.
“We can achieve wonders if we can unite the people’s force. The Mayors, Municipal Chairmen Ward members and other local body elected persons will be the leaders in the State tomorrow. You all should be able leaders. If you have the conviction you will be successful cent percent,” the CM said.
In the end, the CM quoted a poem from Barthruhari’s Subhshitam, (translated by Enugu Laxmana Kavi), “Arambhimparu—-Gavunan”. Freely translated it means, “People are classified into 3 categories based on their capacity to face difficulties in achieving a task. A person who is not fit enough will not at all start any work afraid of the difficulties he may come across his way. The 2nd type is moderate type of people, who start the work and leave it incomplete because of the difficulties he faces. Only the Courageous and Efficient people shall complete any work though they come across many difficulties”.
STATE LEVEL MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE Continued….
CM KCR gave clarion call that Pattana Pragathi programme should be conducted all over the State on the well laid foundation of Palle Pragathi. He wanted that all the Padayatras, programmes and rallies to be taken out by the public representatives should begin from Dalit Bastis where a majority of the poor live. He wanted focus should be more on the places where SC, ST and Minorities live. He said that town development action plans should be made on the Ward-wise and works also should be taken up from Ward-wise. He wanted completion of construction of public toilets in all the towns and cities within three months and all the power related problems should be solved within 8 months period. Failing which the CM warned that the MLAs, Mayors, Chairpersons, Commissioners concerned should take the responsibility and may have to quit their posts. He wanted total discipline in fiscal matters and asserted that funds should be spent as per planning only. The CM is upset that the Mandal Panchayat Raj Officer have been negligent and did not undertake tour of villages to review Palle Pragathi programme. He has instructed the Collectors to camp and stay overnight in the villages and conduct Padayatras to achieve the Palle Pragathi targets.
As part of the State Municipal Conference held here on Tuesday at Pragathi Bhavan to discuss modalities of the proposed ten-day Pattana Pragathi programmes scheduled from February 24 to March 4, the CM interacted with the Mayors, Chairpersons, Municipal Commissioners, Collectors, Additional Collectors etc. He clarified the doubts raised by them. Ministers, Government’s Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP M Mahender Reddy, Principal Secretary (MA&UD) Arvind Kumar, Municipal Administration Commissioner Satyanarayana, MLAs, Mayors, Chairpersons, Municipal Commissioners, Collectors, Additional Collectors participated in the Conference.
The CM laid down the guidelines and road map for the proposed Pattana Pragathi programme:
• Prepare Ward-wise Plans. Prepare annual, five-year town/city plans. Collector, additional Collectors should prepare the plan in consultation with Counselors/Corporators. Take opinion from the People’s Committees appointed ward-wise. Appoint Special Officer in each ward on a permanent basis. Scan each Ward like an X-Ray. Decide on what is the needed, what is happening now and what should happen?
• How a Model town and City should look like and how it should be. Everyone should pose this question to one self. Search for an answer to this question, will tell us what one should do? Remove garbage, clean drainage every day and keep the town/city clean. Supply safe drinking water daily. Street lighting should be done properly. Roads should not have potholes, crates or damaged partly or fully. Towns and cities should resplendent with greenery. Create dumping yards to clear garbage. Cremation and burial grounds should be created for the decent burial or cremation of the dead. Based on the population, set up veg and non-Veg parks. Set up open playgrounds and Gyms for the youth. These are the factors for an ideal City or town.
• Identify what are the minimum civic facilities needed and give top priority for the completion of them. Construct Public toilets for the use of local residents as well as the floating public. Utilize government lands to construct public toilets. The government will give powers to the Collectors to acquire and allocate government land of any department. Decide on how many toilets to be constructed and where and complete the task in here months.
• Create Street vending Zones in towns and Cities for the benefit of street vendors. Create proper infrastructure there. Till a special place is ear marked and alternate arrangements are made for the street vendors, they should not be troubled and the government will give orders in this regard.
• Creating parking places for Autos, Taxis, and other public transport vehicles to park them at specified places. The government will give power to the Collectors to utilize government places for the purpose.
• Electricity power network should be accident free. Remove twisted poles, poles with rust, electricity poles in the midst of the roads, and transformers on the footpaths. Rectify power lines hanging dangerously on the house. Remove poles, which are short in length and replace them with larger poles. We will allocate funds in the Budget to take up these works. MLAs and officials with better coordination should solve all the electricity related problems within eight months. Or else, MLAs and Officials concerned will be held responsible. The Officials from the electricity department should send the required electric poles, wires, transformers and other material beforehand.
• Like Sarpanches in the Villages, Counsellors and Corporators should take responsibility of growing the plants in towns and cities. They should take responsibility for 85 per cent survival of the plants. Arrange plant nurseries based on the need of the town city. If land is not available in city or town, set up nursery in the neighboring periphery village.
• Distribute dustbins to each house separately to dispose of dry and wet garbage separately. Arrange adequate number of vehicles to transport garbage from homes. We have decided to arrange 3100 vehicles all over the State. Already 600 vehicles came and the rest will arrive soon. Purchase more vehicles, if need be.
• Purchase and employ machines to clean the drainages.
• For urban local bodies we will give Rs 148 crore from Finance Commission funds per month. If need be, we will curtail expenditure on other works and allocate the same for urban development like we have done for the village development. There should be financial discipline while spending these funds. Every Municipality should have a financial plan. Compulsory expenditure should be kept under Charged Account. Pay regularly without fail, the EMIs, salaries, electricity bills, and water bills. This responsibility of paying bills monthly is with the Commissioners. Allocate 10 per cent of funds for greenery while making financial plans. MPs, MLAs, MLCs should spend their development funds to the town and city development also.
• Educate and create awareness among the people on the new Municipal Act. We take stringent action against irregularities. We brought in easy permissions for the construction of houses, sanction of layouts. We reposed faith in people. We take strict action if someone gives false information or indulges in illegal construction. We will demolish illegal structures without any sympathy. This message we ill like to give to the people clearly.
• The government is considering giving another opportunity in the municipalities as it did with the towns and cities under GO numbers 58 and 59 for the regularization of constructions on the government lands.
• The government will soon be taking up a programme to make Telangana State, a totally literate State. Counselors and Corporators should take responsibility in the programme. Everyone should take the responsibility on his/her self to turn the illiterate into literates.
(Completed)
