Saturday, 12 August 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) will present the proposal of twinning of Dehradun with a Romanian city in the board meeting on Monday for sustainable development of the city. This twinning of cities programme will help municipalities of both cities to concentrate on common challenges and how these can be tackled.
If the board members pass the proposal in the meeting, MCD will be the first corporation in the State to introduce the twinning of cities plan, said the Dehradun municipal commissioner Manuj Goyal. He said that the twinning of cities refers to the development of strategic partnerships between two cities in an effort to exchange information, ideas, technical assistance, training and other pertinent activities related to sustainable development and challenges which are common to both. It allows both to concentrate on common issues which at times can be very specific, such as sanitation challenges, garbage disposal challenges, economic development or the improvement of other services. It aims to encourage cooperation between municipalities and the exchange of best practices, said Goyal.
Not consulted before scheduling board meeting, claim councillors
Councillors of several wards have claimed that the senior officials of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) announced the schedule of the board meeting without consulting them. The corporation did not even seek any proposal from them to add to the agenda which is mandatory as per the rules, claimed the councillors. However, the municipal commissioner Manuj Goyal stated that the board meeting has been scheduled to be held on Monday as per the rules. “If the councillors think their proposal is not included in the agenda, they can present it separately in the meeting. Councillors are given time to present their respective proposals or issues in every meeting. Everything is being done as per the rules,” added Goyal.
Besides this, several important proposals will be presented in the board meeting. An agenda of about 20 proposals will be presented in the meeting that mainly includes the expansion of solid waste management and recycling plant in Sheeshambada to maximise garbage disposal, establishing more cow shelters and carrying out operation of cow shelters via non-government organisations and purchasing sweeping machines to clean major roads of the city. Besides this, the proposal to hand over about 3515.25 square metres of Gandhi Park’s land to Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation for the metro neo project will also be discussed. If the elections of municipal bodies will be held in October as per the schedule, this will be the last board meeting of the year.
