Officials set tasks for corporators

hyderabad: much to the surprise of everyone, corporators made the three-day orientation programme at the administrative staff college of india, which concluded on wednesday, a grand success by registering hundred per cent attendance. however, it may take some time to realise just how they ended up being ‘fixed’ by officials of various departments.for every demand the corporators made, the officials had a demand in return to be met by the respective elected representative. it was made clear to the new corporators that governance always meant ‘give and take’ and not just making demands. the officials were happy with the attendance of the corporators, who in turn were pleased at the opportunity given to them learn more about governance and laws. besides, presentations on structure and functioning of each government department, they were informed of the reforms in various sectors and experiences of local bodies across the globe. the first indication that the corporators were to be ‘fixed’ with responsibilities came with the questionnaire to be filled by each of them. the questionnaire seeks to know the needs of each locality and would take at least three months for the corporator to fill it, for this would require an extensive touring of the ward. the data is to be used by officials for taking policy decisions in the future. when many corporators demanded quality and adequate supply of drinking water, they were asked to ensure hundred per cent collection of bills in their respective divisions and help the water board improve its finances. hmws&sb managing director m g gopal explained the efforts being made to improve internal efficiency and requested the corporators to do their bit. central power distribution company limited (cpdcl) managing director tvsn prasad said he would send the list of power supplied to each division and the amount collected from the consumers every month. “you have to make up for the difference. i will ensure quality and uninterrupted supply of power. let us both accept a challenge and cooperate with each other,� he said. it now appears that the corporators will have to accomplish the tasks of collecting the revenue for the water board, the municipal corporation of hyderabad, ap transco and other departments which officials have found to be difficult for long.