Indian Express 18.06.2010
VMC’s claim of best water management award falls flat
hitarthpandya Tags : corporation, best water management award Posted: Fri Jun 18 2010, 04:41 hrs
In a banner put up in January Vadodara Municipal Corporation had claimed of having won an award for water management.
Vadodara: This January, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation went overboard in announcing its achievement by putting up huge banners which read, ‘Ministry of Water Resources and UNESCO awarded Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan for Best Water Management and Remarkable Improvement in Distribution Network’. The banners also carried photograph of CM Narendra Modi, a trophy and certificate.
But the same award is now haunting senior VMC officials, as a reply to an application under the RTI Act by the Ministry of Water Resources (Indus Wing), New Delhi, has revealed that the ministry does not give such awards and that it is not even aware about it.
The application was filed by Vadodara senior citizen Prafful Desai, who also heads an NGO, Jaagte Raho. “I saw the hoarding while crossing the Khanderao Market, and was surprised because the ground reality was different. I asked the ministry on what grounds the award was given. The reply was ‘nil’. So, I filed another RTI application and in that the ministry categorically stated that no such award is given to VMC or any other corporation,” said Desai.
Vijay Pratap Singh, Chief Public Information Officer, Ministry of Water Resources (Indus Wing), said in his letter dated May 26: “Commission (Indus) is the Appellate Authority in respect of Indus Wing only and not in respect of the entire ministry. The information available in this wing has already been sent to you. It is, however, understood that the competition was not organised by this Ministry.”
Shailesh Mistry, Executive Engineer (Water Supply), said: “It is true that the award is not given by the Ministry of Water Resources and UNESCO. The organisers are basically a forum.”
According to the website of Water Digest and Water Awards (WDWA), ‘the WDWA platform was set up in 2006 to honor distinguished work carried out by various companies in order to save and conserve water. The award is supported by UNESCO and the Ministry of Water Resources of India’. VMC’s name is not mentioned anywhere in the website.
