Empowering district development Comittees under stewardship of the cm”s
A very timely probe by Basharat Lodhi, a journalist from Gujrat. I have also previously mentioned in articles that district-wise development involves colossal amounts. Therefore, it is pertinent that the governing head of each province actively heads district-level development committees. This would ensure that the elected heads of provinces can be involved in the committees deciding the fates of unprivileged people pushed against the extremities of wretchedness. These places are predominantly faulty, bearing godforsaken developments. A criterion must be enforced for funds allocation based on need, not on whim. A committee should be formed for this purpose, including the DC and a handful of notable citizens.
The current Chief Minister must go through the entire scheme. He/She must obtain first-hand information from the DC and the citizens regarding the ground realities of the districts. For instance, in the city of Gt alone, the most important issue is the sewerage. Whenever the rain comes bucketing down, the flooded roads disrupt the lives of the commoners.
It will be interesting to see what the legislators plan.
How constructively would their vision or lack thereof translate into a tangible construction for a particular project to address this long-standing misery? Our major predicament is sewerage water and its disposal. It is crucially strategic to crack open the stormwater channels which are cemented, covered, and sealed. This may be the worst problem because it prevents excessive rainwater from receding, making it difficult for it to be pumped out to Bolay through motors. The Bhimber Road is now a cursed vicinity. Previously, the rainwater would be collected in a sinkhole around Katchery Chowk. However, recently it has become a sink for swampy sludge and affluence. This gets filled up by heavy material, thereby disallowing excess water inside the pit.
The stormwater channels in and around the city need to be opened immediately. Without this, it will be a herculean task to straighten out the situation. The Deputy commissioners on their part should prepare a report regarding the ensuing problems/situation and another report reflecting upon urgent matters to be approved by the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister of Punjab must also consult the citizens alongside the legislators. This is not to say that legislators’ advice should be neglected, but merely that the problem at hand must be fully accounted for. According to one of our journalists, if more than 30 percent is gobbled up collectively by the elected people and the officers alike, it would be impossible to deal with this worrying conundrum. How can we ever expect quality work to be executed? If thirty percent is what they want, their commissions should be incorporated over and above the real cost of a project. For example, if a project costs 1 crore, that should be valued around 1 crore 30 lakhs so that the actual cost is not affected.
