Face To Face With The Municipal Commissioners of Delhi

FLO organized the 5th Annual Face to Face programme on November 9, 2013 at New Delhi. The esteemed panelists were Mr. Jalaj Srivastava, NDMC Chairman (Central Delhi), Mr. P K Gupta, Municipal Commissioner, North MCD, Mr. Manish Gupta, Municipal Commissioner, South MCD and Mr. Mayank Sharma, Additional Commissioner (Health), NDMC.

In her welcome address, FLO President Ms Malvika Rai said that the tenets of good governance require the Govt. to have clear rules and procedures, transparent systems, easy accessibility to information and a redressal of complaints procedures. She also added that FLO would endeavor to continue the dialogue between civil society, business and Government officials for a better India.

The panel discussion focused on the issues of garbage disposal, sewage system, drainage system, condition of roads and horticulture aspirations of the city and similar concerns. The panelists unanimously agreed that there are several problems which they are continuously trying to address by finding innovative solutions.

Mr. Jalaj Srivastava said that in addition to the existing online grievance redressal system, the NDMC is now setting up a call centre which will have a four digit number and a team of professionals will register the complaints and immediately it will be forwarded to the concerned officer and the person registering the complaint will receive a confirmation.

Mr. P K Gupta mentioned that in his zone the two biggest challenges were fund constraints and providing basic civic amenities in some of the congested areas such as Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh. The task of providing drainage and sanitation facilities in such areas is difficult because there is hardly any space to set up the facilities. Also, managing rural areas like Narela is an issue because they cover a huge area and are ill planned.

Mr. Manish Gupta pointed out that the unplanned development taking place in various parts of the city over the last two decades has resulted in making the task of MCD difficult. Over time, many such unplanned areas were regularized, which triggered unplanned development. He added that there were coordination concerns as well among the various agencies working in the city.

Mr. Mayank Sharma said that in view of the need to control dengue, his department officials visited the homes of the elite and the poor. The result was that at both the places breeding ground for the mosquitoes were found and most of them denied taking any precautionary measures. There have been awareness drives in place but the problem was that since the poor people get water supplied to their area once in 15 days they had to store water, which eventually became the breeding ground for mosquitoes. On the other hand, the gardens, lawns and overhead tanks of the elite served as breeding ground for mosquitoes, he added.

Neeta Boochra, Sr. Vice President FLO, in her vote of thanks said that FLO understands that it is important to bridge the communication gap between the civil society and the government for improved and speed redressal of issues and concerns.

Kiran Gera, Past President, FLO, moderated the session in a very lively manner. Harjinder Kaur, Joint Treasurer & Governing Body Member FLO was the Day Chair. Kiran Sharma, FLO member hosted the lunch.