While welcoming the Telangana State Government's move to launch Swachh Hyderabad programme, the Forum for Good Governance on Tuesday, called for steps to ensure the initiative was driven with a long-term strategy and a focus on actual needs of the people.
Speaking to presspersons here, Forum secretary M. Padmanabha Reddy said that aspects such as safe and affordable drinking water, proper drainage network and pollution-free environs should have more importance than features such as multi-grade separators.
A list of 17 items including healthcare, parks, better transport, slum improvement, uninterrupted power supply and security to life and property was compiled by them as the needs of the citizens after interactions with residents, he said.
“What people of Hyderabad need is something different from the plans prepared by the GHMC,” Mr. Reddy quipped, adding that the GHMC plans did not even have the involvement of departments such as Pollution Control Board, Hyderabad Metro Water Supply & Sewerage Board and others in its long-term plans.
The Government taking up Swachh Hyderabad for four days would not yield much results and the need was to have a long-term strategy, advocated the Forum for Good Governance vice-president Rao Chelikani. “For results, the initiative should be spread out say till the year 2019, have people’s participation and involve the civil society,” he said.
The city has almost 200 senior citizens' associations and a large number of resident welfare associations which should be roped in apart from subject experts in various fields such as doctors, engineers, architects and others, Mr. Chelikani said.
