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Given that air pollution is one of the biggest challenges Delhi is currently facing, lack of coordination between the ruling AAP state and the BJP-run MCD has been the reason for limited implementation of the City Clean Air Action Plan, United Residents Joint Action (URJA) has said.
Delhi MCD polls impact the lives of around 20 million people. The unified MCD came into existence by subsuming three erstwhile corporations of Delhi on May 22 this year and the polls for the civic body will be conducted on December 4. One of Delhi's biggest issues is air pollution and the MCD plays an important role in the implementation of the Clean Air Action Plan for Delhi. URJA in its evaluation of MCD Manifestos 2022 said that the MCD election is mostly focused on key areas like Waste Management and Elimination of Landfill, Inclusion of RWA in Urban Governance, Transparency and Sustainable Financial management of the MCD. Also, given the importance of citizen participation, the role of RWAs has become very important. Overall, there are many issues which could not find its place in the manifesto. The manifesto document reflects the intentions of political parties but the mechanism with which they will be implemented or delivered are yet to be framed, it said. Atul Goyal, president, URJA, said: "It is good to see that a lot of the citizens' charter demands have been incorporated in the various political party manifestos. There is emphasis on air pollution management which is a problem ailing the city and needs immediate attention. "Financial sustainability and governance are also critical issues that all parties have promised to improve. However, most manifestos have missed out the reforms required for EVs and stray animals. The implementation of the promises is what will now be crucial for the citizens." Citizen groups on the other hand are concerned about the delivery of promises made by respective political parties within the first hundred days of the formation of a new municipal corporation by the leadership. By and large, it is overwhelming to witness budgetary allocation by the state or Centre or both to achieve a progressive sustainable smart Delhi to which all parties are silent. Besides, citizen groups' are happy to see that all political parties have tried to accommodate People's Manifesto 2022 for the Municipal Corporation 2022-27 made by URJA that collates Citizen charter of Demands for a sustainable smart Delhi, URJA said. Wing Commander Jasbir Chadda, Secretary General, URJA said that transparency and better governance processes seem to be part of all party manifestos and it is a welcome move. "But, there is a need for a shift in approach for how the Municipal Corporation works and better coordination of departments is crucial to the delivery of any promises. They need to also operate in partnership with the public for every service in every ward to build accountability and identify solutions that work on the ground. The manifesto document reflects the intentions of Political parties but the mechanism with which they will be implemented or delivered are yet to be framed." --IANS kvm/pgh ( 530 Words) 2022-12-02-22:10:04 (IANS)
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