Citizens keep demands ready for candidates

PUNE: Maintenance of open spaces and green patches, sewage treatment, slum rehabilitation, regular anti-encroachment drives, river restoration, better public transport and roads and healthcare are some demands that citizens want political parties to look into in the run-up to the civic election on February 16.
The National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC), an umbrella organization of over 50 mohalla committees, has sent a 16-point charter of demands to various parties.
The society will also meet local heads of major political parties and seek clarity on their stand on important civic issues including biodiversity parks, river restoration, sewage treatment, solid waste management, slum rehabilitation, Development Plan 2012, public transportation and public amenities, said NSCC president Satish Khot.
“As part of our voters’ awareness campaign, we will organise interactions and townhall meetings with candidates in their electoral wards. This will enable voters to know the candidates and make an informed voting decision. The candidates’ response to the NSCC’s charter of demands, along with each mohalla committee's local charter of demands, will be used for the interaction,” said Khot.
Vijay Kumbhar, president of Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, said that government healthcare and garbage disposal are problems. “The garbage processing plant at Urali Devachi should be upgraded to take care of the trash generated. We also want reservations for schools, gardens and playgrounds remain unchanged. More government hospitals and clinics should be opened and privatisation of healthcare should be stopped. Most importantly, corporators should spend money on projects for which the budgetary allocations have been made, only then can projects be completed. Time-bound monitoring of these projects is essential,” said Kumbhar.
Sarayu Sanghavi, founder-member of the Aundh Vikas Mandal, said the area needed a garden and the municipal hospital in Aundh must be put to better use.
“We want the facilities to be used by the people especially the lower income groups and save them the travel to Sassoon hospital,” said Sanghavi.
For over a decade, the mandal has been saying that Aundh should have a garden of its own. Another demand is to widen a narrow but crucial stretch of the road from Parihar Chowk to Baner.
No increase in tax for the next five years and VAT-based octroi are some demands put forth by the Pune Nagrik Sanghatna, said activist and working committee member Vivek Velankar.
“There should be no tax increase for the next five years because the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) tax recovery system is very poor and needs improvement. Today, the PMC has to recover Rs 1,000 crore in taxes alone. Instead of collecting octroi at checkpoints, a practice that can lead to large-scale corruption, it should be VAT-based and not more than one per cent,” he said.
Other demands included an average of eight hours of daily water supply throughout the city, allocation of Rs 100 crore by the PMC every year as public transport budget, greater and better control over administration of PMPML and appointment of experts in the three vacant posts of directors of PMPML.
“We do not favour construction in the BDP zones on the city’s hills and rivers. Smaller rivers, running through Pune, should also be cleaned up,” said Velankar.
Good public transport and removal of encroachments are Nagrik Chetna Manch’s demands. “Front margins of all major roads are encroached upon by shopkeepers. This leads to garbage and obstruction of mobility. There aren’t enough public toilets for women. Effective monitoring of the BRTS and enforcement of traffic rules are needed,” president Major General (retired) SCN Jatar said.
Members of Kalyaninagar Residents’ Association are drawing attention to the traffic and parking chaos in the wake of increasing commercial establishments in the area.
“With the number of office spaces and restaurants around residential complexes increasing, heavy vehicles and cars are parked right on the main roads, leading to constant traffic chaos and space crunch. Moreover, road work and pipeline laying have remained incomplete,” association chairman Surinder Aggarwal said.