State BJP on Sunday released its manifesto in the run up to the municipality and NAC elections with a promise to ensure provision of basic civic amenities. “BJP is committed for efficient, vibrant, autonomous, self-sufficient and citizen-friendly municipalities and NACs in the State,” asserted State BJP president KV Singh Deo, while releasing the urban local body (UlB) poll manifesto at party headquarters here.
He said the BJP will bring transparency in the functioning of the UlBs, provide financial powers and emphasise on maximum revenue generation, besides bringing in both administrative and structural reforms in the functioning of the municipalities and NACs.
The BJP is the first to release a manifesto for the UlB polls. Replying to a query, Sing Deo said the party had fielded candidates having winning prospect. As many as 726 candidates of the party are in the fray and would constitute the council in at least 25 per cent of the 66 UlBs going to polls on September 19 next.
On the postponement of the UlB elections in nine districts of western Odisha, the State BJP president said the ruling BJD was not serious in holding elections in western Odisha as it was apprehending a miserable defeat in the region due to various factors. Stating that the BJP was committed to significant improvement in the civic amenities, Singh Deo said that the party would bring functional efficiency, ensure public participation, grievance redressal, structural reforms, revenue management and transparency in the functioning of the municipalities and NACs.
He said in order to ensure a healthy living for the citizens, the BJP would ensure total sanitation for the people by providing proper drainage and sewage facilities. Regular lifting and management of solid waste generated in the urban areas through PPP mode would be taken up, he said.
Apart from providing filtered or treated drinking water to every household, the manifesto promises setting up of at least one affordable quality hospital for the people with alternative medicine and other state-of-the art facilities in each ward, provision of good quality pucca roads in all the localities with integrated drainage facilities, low cost housing for the poor and low-income group, composite plan for slum development taking into confidence all the stake-holders and security of the women, particularly the working women staying alone.
The BJP said that it would provide at least one hostel in each municipality and NAC for the working women at affordable fees. The facility will also be extended to girl students who come to urban centers for their education and training. Night shelters will be set up for the homeless and people sleeping in footpaths, the manifesto said.
The party also promised stadium, meeting hall, activity center, amphitheater, Kalyan Mandap and old age home in every civic body. The manifesto said that ward wise a citizen’s committee would be formed to monitor the welfare projects and proper implementation of civic amenities.
As part of the structural reforms, the party said that it would expedite e-Governance programme to bring efficiency and making citizen friendly UlBs, create special and dedicated engineering departments in all UlBs with emphasis on proper and scientific town planning and set up disaster management units.
Besides, there would be a third party audit system to ensure impartial assessment of the function of the municipalities and NACs and ensure passing of maximum possible information to the citizens online and through websites.