Indian Express 29.09.2010
Administration gives go-ahead for councillors’ study toursCouncillors of the Municipal Corporation (MC) are all set to go on study tours, with the UT Administration giving the much-awaited approval today. The councillors would be going for the study tour in two groups.
While one group would be visiting Kolkata and Gangtok from October 2 to 10, the other group would be visiting Thiruvanthapuram and Cochin from October 18 to 26. Two executive engineers would be going with the two groups.
A total of Rs 19 lakh will be spent on the tours. The councillors of the civic body had given their options for the study tours a few months back. However, the purpose of the tours had not been clearly defined.
The Administration had asked the civic body to give reasons for the tours. The councillors going to Kolkata and Gangtok would be studying techniques of rain water harvesting in Gangtok and the Mayor-in-Council system in Kolkata.
The councillors stated that as there is much talk about more powers for the Municipal Corporation, the Kolkata model is the one that needs to be studied. The study tour to Thiruvanthapuram and Cochin is aimed at studying how the high rate of literacy helps in improving the functioning of the place.
The councillors’ study tours had invited criticism as it was felt that they would not yield much results. Not many proposals from previous such tours have seen the light of the day. These included tours to Singapore and Bangkok, Goa, Mumbai and Gujarat.
