Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said the government was keen on introducing a grading and rating system for Municipalities and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the country.
Speaking after inaugurating a workshop on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan jointly organised by the State and Union Departments of Urban Development, the Minister said the rating would be based on the performance of the ULBs in terms of sanitation, administration, infrastructure development among other things. "This can be done by credit rating agencies and funding would be linked to the ULBs’ performance," the Minister said.
Calling for reforms in urban governance, the Minister emphasised on the need for efforts by ULBs to become financially self-sufficient. "Urban governance is in bad shape and needs to be reformed. Along with the palikes, we want ULBs be headed by IAS officials ," he said.
Transparency
The Minister also asserted the need to ensure transparency and people’s participation in urban development and governance by regularly making public the resources collected, details of projects to be taken up and additional resources required. “If there is transparency, people will promptly pay taxes," he said.
Assured term for Mayor?
Mr. Naidu said the government was keen on a fixed and assured term for the Mayor and heads of ULBs in the country. "An assured term is a must for better performance of the individual, as a one-year term is not enough to take up any developmental works," he said.
Tax exemption for Swach Bharat corporate donations
The Union Minister, who said solid waste management is a big challenge in the country, said the Swachh Bharat Mission aimed at eliminating open defecation and the eradication of manual scavenging.
Tax exemptions would be provided to corporate companies who donate for the mission under Corporate Social Responsibility activities, he said.
The Minister also handed over a cheque of Rs. 80 crore to the Karnataka Urban Development and Municipal Administration Ministers Vinay Kumar Sorakke and Qamurul Islam. He also released the mission’s guidelines for urban areas in Kannada.
Govt. has not scrapped any projects for State
The Union government had not scrapped any of centrally-funded projects in the State, said Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu on Friday.
However, if the State government does not complete the projects within the stipulated time frame, the excess amount would have to be borne by it, he said.
He also promised that the Union government would announce additional new projects for the State and extend adequate funding for the same in the upcoming Budget.
