Cong promises better infrastructure, services
The Congress party on Saturday promised to bring transparency in delivery of services while announcing its ambitious plans to augment the city infrastructure if voted to power in the civic polls.
The party released separate manifestos for each of the three new civic bodies, making a series of promises addressing specific needs of the areas under respective municipal corporations with focus on improving education and health infrastructure.
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Union ministers Ajay Maken and Krishna Tirath, DPCC president J. P. Agarwal, MPS Mahabal Mishra and Ramesh Sharma, senior AICC leaders Motilal Vora and Janardhan Dwivedi released the poll manifestos.
Two major promises in the manifestos are relaxation in property tax for senior citizens, widows and single women and setting up of a computerised single window citizen service centre in each of the 12 municipal zones in the city. The party also promises to set up an indoor and outdoor sports complex in each ward based on the availability of land.
Laying
emphasis
on transparency, the party promises to simplify procedure for approval of layout plans and designs for construction of buildings.
Ms Dikshit said if voted to power the topmost priority would be to ensure cleanliness and taking civic services to the doorstep of the citizens. “Our basic objective would be to make Delhi a clean city in which the BJP ruled MCD failed miserably. The MCD failed to deliver as it was riddled with corruption and irregularities,” she said.
In its manifestos published in four languages — English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu — the party says it would ensure a “garbage and poster- free” Delhi. To woo the residents of unauthorised colonies, it promises to expedite the regularisation process.
The party promises to develop facilities in Old Delhi, Paharganj and Karol Bagh while assuring that norms for construction in Lal Dora areas would be simplified.
The Congress plans to provide free walking sticks and spectacles to senior citizens besides setting up new hospitals in city and dispensaries in each ward.