Himachal BJP released its Vision Document for Shimla Municipality Corporation election. Blaming Congress and CPM for failing to provide even basic civic amenities, BJP promised to ensure basic facilities like clean water, sewerage, better roads and parking space to Shimla residents.
The Vision Document promised to plug the 25 percent leakage in pipelines and installation of transformers to ensure regular and even supply of water, treating of 34 water bodies, water harvesting, preserving the diminishing traditional water sources, besides providing disposable kits of instant testing of water quality.
The BJP also promised to repair and construction of public toilets, ambulance roads in all 34 wards, parking spaces to accommodate 10,000 vehicles, improvement in public transport, constructions of overbridges and escalators and online payment of bills.
Cheap housing for economical weaker sections of society also mentioned in the document besides provision of tiny booths for the economically weaker section, unemployed youth and licensed vendors and special registration of the domestic help to protect their rights.
While, CPM ridiculed the vision document of the BJP and called hoax and a jumbled-up exercise with more of criticism of the past than to have a view and vision for the future. Party senior leader and Deputy Mayor Tikender Singh Panwar said
“It seems that those who have prepared the document do not even know an iota of the reality existing in the city”
Panwar further claimed that “On the water front the BJP speaks about non-integration in between the electricity and the pumping, whereas this already exists and a functional mechanism is monitored by the SMC. Similarly, the much talked about DPR for these schemes is a complete hoax as not only are the DPRs ready but even the money (More than Rs 100 crores) is being spent on augmentation of these water schemes. Hence, they are not aware of the objective reality existing in the city. It looks like the BJP has learnt the art of robbery but that too not fully. The talk about Bauri’s is just to hoodwink whereas already work has started on them and 5 are near completion. There is nothing new being offered. Most hilarious is there vision about water from Koldam where they still are thinking about sending DPRs to ADB/WB. The reality all of us know is that the discussion is in the final stages and within 2 years the work should be over. Finally, the BJP does not speak about its role in the past of providing contaminated water to the city as they were ruling the state from 2007 to 2012 when the first episodes of the epidemic began. Here it must be reiterated that till 2016 July, the water to the city was supplied by the IPH department headed by the minister and the BJP too headed that ministry for a long term. The BJP also does not speak about the formation of the GSWSSC formed under the aegis of the MC Shimla. They do not have a vision of strengthening the institutions rather for privatising it. The BJP deliberately hides its utter contempt to public institutions and does not reveal that it was hell bent in privatizing water in Shimla Municipal Corporation.”
CPM claimed that BJP’s vision document lacks vision for the City and seems ignorant about the initiatives like city mobility plan and the smart city plan passed by the residents of the city.
Blaming BJP and Congress for forcing privatization of e governance in the city and credited CPM tenure for handing over the e governance back to the NIC Shimla.
