After calling a conference of Education and Culture Ministers from the BJP-ruled States in September, the BJP is now planning to bring all its elected Mayors and senior leaders from municipalities to draw a common vision for urban reforms and ‘other initiatives’ which could deal with the immediate challenges of urbanisation.
The pressure of Bihar polls had pushed the date for Mayors’ conference, earlier scheduled for October 31 to November, according to sources.
Over 60 elected Mayors and chairpersons of the standing committee of civic bodies will discuss ‘good governance initiatives.’ “The idea is to discuss issues of urbanisation, civic problems and draw up success examples, which then can be replicated by different municipal bodies,” said a senior BJP leader who maintained that the agenda would be upgraded (following the delay) and linked to the overall development agenda of the Modi Government.
The two-day workshop which would advance the cause of Prime Minister’s `Swachch Bharat programme` will be organised in Hyderabad under the aegis of the good governance cell of the BJP. Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu is likely to attend the discussions.
The attending Mayors would focus on the municipal corporations and devise ways for them to play a leading role in providing civic amenities to the people and even set up appropriate grievance redressal mechanisms. The role of civic bodies “is important” as they “directly impact the lives of citizens”. The BJP has big presence in the municipal bodies across the country which has been bolstered by recent victories in many more cities and metropolises in Goa, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and ladakh.
The issue of Smart Cities would be discussed to educate the leaders on bringing uniformity of approach as the Central Government runs several programmes for urban renewal. The workshop have put renewed stress on speeding up modern facilities in cities and towns under BJP dispensations and turn them a reference point for others.
Earlier, the BJP had called a meeting of all the BJP Ministers for Education and Culture which was also attended by Union Ministers Mahesh Sharma and Smriti Irani and senior BJP leaders.
The nine BJP-ruled States at a meeting had then informed each other about their “innovative programmes” to reduce dropouts of schoolchildren particularly girls from socially weaker sections and the party itself sought to contribute to the New Education Policy (NEP) set to be announced next year.