The Times of India              19.12.2013

City development plan hit by mismanagement

VARANASI: A meeting was called by the mayor Ramgopal Mohale to review the progress of the revised city development plan (CDP) at the head office of the Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Wednesday.

The meeting revealed mismanagement and laxity in the works related to the city development plans.

Many senior officials of various departments including the municipal commissioner Umakant Tripathi were not present at the meeting as they preferred to attend the meeting of Varanasi Vikas Samiti, a social organisation.

Moreover, the members of CRISIL Risk and Infrastructure Solutions, the agency appointed by the government to prepare the CDP, presented wrong data while discussing the various development plans. For example, the agency mentioned that there were 210 slums in the city at present but the figure was rejected by DUDA officials saying that it was old data. Similarly, about availability of toilets for the people and supply of water by Jal-Kal, the data presented by the agency were inaccurate and were rejected by the officials of departments concerned.

According to mayor, the meeting is a clear indication of the mismanagement in the development plans which are supposed to be the foundation of the 2040 vision for the city. "What was more disappointing was the absence of senior officials from the meeting which shows their sincerity towards the development of the city. Moreover, the members of CRISIL presented inaccurate data revealing the real picture of work on development plans," said the mayor.