The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has plans for the comprehensive development of the State, and in particular Bangalore city.
The agenda of AAP, which was released here on Saturday includes development of satellite towns to decongest Bangalore city by implementing commuter rail system and improving public transport.
Its agenda for the State includes providing efficient solid waste management, quality education with emphasis on vocational training, low-cost housing for the urban poor, permanent shelter for slum dwellers, besides providing good governance.
Addressing presspersons, National Executive Committee member Prithvi Reddy said: “Local bodies should be given more power and they should be accountable to the public. Planning for the city, village and the State should happen at different levels.”He said that the AAP would nominate “shadow councillors” in each ward after the Lok Sabha elections to track the flow of money for various projects in Bangalore as part of its “ Nanna Hana, Nanage Beku Lekka ” programme.
Stating that Rs. 17,840-crore has been spent by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on development of roads, Mr. Reddy said that with the money spent the city should have got 8,500 km of quality roads, but in reality it has not happened. The Technical Vigilance Cell reviewed as many as 695 frozen works of BBMP and found only two among them were reasonable. “But elected representatives went to the extent of questioning the decision”, he regretted. In Bangalore city, Rs.22,878 crore is supposed to have been spent over the last three years for urban development under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM), but on the ground it does not look so, he added. Underlining the fact that public money was being misused, he said: “Unless we are vigilant and have honest elected representatives, it will be difficult to address the problems of the people.”
The government had plans to spend Rs. 1,30,771 crore on various projects, and if the public fails to track the flow of funds, there is every possibility that it will be misused. “Therefore the AAP’s shadow councillors will keep track on works undertaken by the government in every ward and money spent on them. It is important for the people to track public money, as it belongs to them”, he said.
