Congress down but not out in A’bad civic body

AHMEDABAD: Hope could be the only saviour for over 35-lakh Amdavadis, who are looking forward to 2003 for some relief in a city starved of development, as another year of non-performance has passed since Congress grabbed power in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) two years back.
Congress that came to power after defeating the BJP, which held the mantle for a marathon 13 years, has failed to make an impact on the civic administration as yet.
An array of projects announced by Congress leaders failed to take off due to lackadaisical approach of the civic leadership. The party, which is still grappling with the crushing defeat that it faced during assembly elections, is completely rudderless to begin afresh.
"I will have to go through the records to give you details about the work done by the Congress party," said Badruddin Sheikh, standing committee Chairman when asked to list out the party’s achievements during its two-year rule. People allege that Sheikh’s superior, mayor Himmatsinh Patel, was so "busy looking for a party ticket from the Rakhial assembly seat" that development took a back seat.
The promised community centre for the eastern zone and party plots with gardens in five zones did not materialise in the last two years.
Also, the 12 proposed overbridges and underbridges in the city never saw the light of the day. "Work of small magnitude, like construction of a cremation complex for the eastern part of the city also failed to materialise due to the laid back attitude of the political leadership," said a senior Congressmen and a two-time corporator in the AMC.
Congress leaders cite post-Godhra scenario and three months of communal trouble as a reason for the delay in implementation of various projects. "The entire leadership at the civic level was engaged in political happenings. This made it difficult for them to think about various civic projects," said a senior city Congress office bearer.
"The biggest achievement that Congress accomplished was waiving the 18 per cent interest on property tax arrears," said deputy mayor Khemchand Solanki, adding that non-performance was a misnomer for the party.
Like many Congressmen he also believes that the Godhra carnage ruined all the good work done by the party at the civic level but hopes that the party will make a come back. "We still have two-and-halfyears to go and I can assure you that people who rejected us will vote for us again," added Solanki.
He also goes on to say that work for the construction of underpasses and flyovers announced by the party will begin soon, as tenders have already been floated.
Solanki believes that Amdavadis do not have any problems when it came to roads, lights and water in the city as these perennial problems have been tackled to a great extent.
For him, unveiling an imposing traffic island at Sarangpur in memory of B R Ambedakar on April 14 is the most important task in the city at present. "People will envy AMC for such a magnificent tribute to the great leader," said Solanki.