Gandhinagar, Aug 11 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has directed elected representatives and officials of municipal corporations and municipalities to pay as much attention to the condition of old and completed development works as they do to planning new projects, while ensuring that public funds are used effectively.
Addressing a ceremony in Gandhinagar on Tuesday where cheques totalling Rs 3,850 crore were distributed for development works in urban local bodies, Patel said the availability of funds should be matched by proper utilisation and quality execution.
“Along with planning new works, the condition of old and completed works should also be taken care of,” he said, urging elected representatives and officials to jointly conduct site visits to ensure that projects are implemented to the required standards.
Patel said sound financial management under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ensured that there was no longer a shortage of funds for public welfare works in cities and municipal corporations.
“The growing expectations of citizens reflected the improvement in ease of living and the visibility of public works,” he said.
The Chief Minister also instructed urban local bodies to ensure that newly constructed roads in cities and municipal corporation areas were built using reinforced cement concrete (RCC).
He called for greater attention to urban cleanliness and suggested strict action in cases of negligence.
He also stressed the need to increase green cover in urban areas. Patel said, “State government had decided to reserve around one per cent of land in newly developed town planning schemes for tree plantation. The provision should be used to create gardens, parks and oxygen parks for public benefit.”
Urban Development and Finance Minister Kanu Desai said that under Patel’s leadership, development works in cities had not been held up because of a shortage of funds. “But we need to take special care to ensure that these works are of higher quality,” he said.
Desai said urban development planning must also take climate change into account. He urged local bodies to work towards making cities greener under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative and to strengthen cleanliness efforts.
The state’s urban local bodies received Rs 3,850 crore under the Swarnim Jayanti Chief Minister Urban Development Scheme. Of this, Rs 2,992 crore was allocated to 17 municipal corporations and Rs 858 crore to 152 municipalities.
“The state had moved from a situation where town budgets were once measured in lakhs to one where crores of rupees were being allocated for urban development works in a single day,” Patel noted.
–IANS
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