If Pune Municipal Corporation cannot provide even the basic facilities, then the post of Municipal Commissioner should be outsourced too
The correct solution to misgovernance is good governance, not privatization. And good governance requires political and administrative will: Mr Vijay Kumbhar
.jpg)
Press media live :
Pune : The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) administration, which has a budget of over Rs 8500 crores, has now been caught in vortex of privatization because of its inefficiency. After having already privatised hospitals and cemetery, the administrative body at PMC has now decided to privatize even the water treatment plant at Parvati that was useful for purifying water. This move of PMC is strongly opposed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). If PMC cannot provide even basic facilities like drinking water to its citizens and privatization has to be exercised out on everything, then, the party asks, What is the need for the posts of Municipal Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, Department head, Assistant commissioner in the corporation? AAP thus demands that even these municipal posts should be outsourced to private contractors.
The PMC should be an autonomous local body run by the people of Pune and for welfare of its citizens. But, of late, PMC has become a ‘contractor welfare organization’ run by contractors and their agents, all using taxpayers’ money. Ordinary citizens are deprived of basic facilities like waste management, water, health, education, efficient public transport and thus taxpayer’s money is being looted by corrupt collusion of contractors and their agents with political leaders.
In order to run the administration of PMC efficiently, we form a panel of officers like Municipal Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Head of Department etc. from who we expect to get all the work done with the help of employees of corporation. It is the job of such people's representatives to keep an eye on public welfare and run the administration accordingly. But in the last few years, privatization buzz has spread rapidly in the corporation and, consequently, outsourcing to contractors is done for every task. Ultimately, only contractors benefit from such a move with tremendous tax burden on the common citizen.
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, over the last 7 years, has done a great job in providing basic amenities like health, education, electricity, water, public transport. This Delhi model of governance is popular all across the country today. AAP has formed this model of development by taking action against its corrupt government employees. *Thus, “the correct solution to misgovernance is good governance and not privatization” says Maharashtra State Organizer and Pune Working President, Mr Vijay Kumbhar.*