Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday congratulated the newly-elected mayors and urged them to work towards making municipal corporations self-reliant on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘self-reliant India’. 

Seven newly-elected mayors called on the chief minister at his residence on Tuesday.  

Chief Minister Yogi directed the mayors to address the problems of their areas effectively with the support of public representatives and also take measures to enhance the income of their respective municipal corporations. He also motivated the mayors to perform better and to try and do something new. 

“Development is the only means of success. So, bring change through development. There is no dearth of money for development. Prioritise development works in every ward and ensure standard and quality of work. Use the CSR money to improve public works,” he said. 

The chief minister directed the mayors to give priority to underground cabling work, waste management and installation of street lights. He also instructed them to address the issue of stray dogs in urban areas and prioritise the well-being of cattle.

The chief minister also called for making all the 17 municipal corporations safe and smart. He told the mayors to pay special attention to cleaning and maintenance of toilets in urban areas. The chief minister also directed  the mayors to build a convention centre for the common man. 

Besides, the chief minister directed them to clean the drains before the onset of monsoon and curb the use of plastic. Emphasising on the need for increasing the income of municipal corporations and making them self-reliant, Yogi mooted the idea of bringing tax reforms and facilitating deposit of taxes for the common man with the help of technology. 

“People should be made aware to pay tax. Online facilities should be provided. Multi-level parking lots can also help increase municipal corporations’ income in addition to providing convenience to people,” he remarked. 

The chief minister also directed the mayors to stay in touch with public representatives and work in coordination with them. 

Furthermore, CM Yogi stressed the need for addressing common problems faced by municipal corporations, such as water-logging, clogging of drains and maintaining cleanliness, effectively. 

The chief minister also gave instructions regarding installation of Integrated Traffic Management System at all major intersections. 

The mayors who met the chief minister included Bihari Lal of Jhansi, Prashant Singhal of Aligarh, Harikant Ahluwalia of Meerut, Archana Verma of Shahjahanpur, Vinod Agarwal of Mathura, Sunita Dayal of Ghaziabad, and Hemlata Diwakar of Agra.