Focus on electricity, water, roads, drainage & cleanliness in your areas: Vij to councillors

State Energy, Transport and Labour Minister Anil Vij has directed the municipal councillors to focus on key areas such as electricity, water, roads, drainage, and cleanliness in their respective wards and resolve public grievances. The minister while holding a meeting with the councillors of various wards of the Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, said they had to work at the ground level to make Ambala the best city in the state.

“The councillors are required to focus thoroughly on five key areas — electricity, water, drainage, roads and cleanliness — in their respective wards, so that Ambala Cantonment can become a model city”, Vij added, while addressing the councillors and party workers of Wards 7, 17, 18, 19, 21, 24, and 25 as part of a “Parivar Milan” programme.

During the programme, he said, “I have come to give my councillors a five-point agenda which includes electricity, water, drainage, roads, and cleanliness. Each councillor must inspect their ward in the evenings to identify issues and work with employees to resolve the problem. For instance, if a streetlight isn’t working, it must be fixed. About 15,000 lights have been installed in the city, it’s the councillor’s duty to ensure malfunctioning lights are repaired.”

He emphasised that the councillors must review whether clean water was reaching every household. He criticised the practice of merely driving around without addressing the real issues, saying, “You must not let people run behind you for electricity or water solutions and must get the work done.” The councillors are expected to inspect issues such as non-functional tubelights, hanging wires or leaning electric poles and coordinate repairs.

He added, “I don’t want to see even a single dirty street in any ward. I will soon hold meetings with officials to ensure every councillor has a support staff. All employees will have to get the councillor’s signature after completing their duties. Even the street cleaners must get signatures; otherwise, their salary will be withheld.”

He acknowledged that the roads got damaged but said that it was the councillor’s duty to get these fixed.

Vij said a team will soon be formed to evaluate the five-point agenda in every councillor’s ward every two months. Each area of focus will be graded out of 10, making a total of 50 points. The assessment results will be shared publicly with workers, and wards and councillors will be ranked accordingly. If a ward is found to be dirty, points will be deducted.

Haryana Tribune