Corporators get carried away in their ignorance
We asked: Do you think it is fine for corporators to get water tanks installed at just about everywhere in their wards irrespective of the need, which make them so readily available for public misuse at a time when groundwater is fast becoming scarce in many areas?
Corporators or Councillors of the Municipal Corporation perform various important municipal functions and are responsible, among other things, for the overall development of the wards they represent focusing on economic and social development, water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes, public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management, urban forestry, protection of the environment and ecological aspects, slum improvement and upgradation, urban poverty alleviation, and provision of urban amenities such as parks, gardens and playgrounds, and a host of other important functions. But many of the corporators, on account of their general ignorance and lack of proper guidance, get carried away in implementing projects which are counterproductive and detrimental to the interests of the community as a whole. One is constantly amazed at the number of water tanks installed by corporators within short distances of each other irrespective of the actual needs of the residents of the wards. Not only are these installations superfluous but they also foster continuous and wasteful misuse of a valuable natural resource that ought to be conserved especially when the threat of water shortage worldwide is a reality. Such installations fly in the face of the corporators’ responsibilities which include protection of the environment and ecological concerns about sustainable development. The reasons for such injudicious decisions are not hard to find. Almost anyone who is above the age of 21 and a citizen of India is eligible to be a corporator. No educational qualifications are mandated. As such elected corporators present a motley crowd of ambiguous dilettantes who end up causing more harm than good not only to the communities they represent but to the country at large. Surojit Mohan Gupta, Scholar
Water is critical to life but it is also a limited resource and several interrelated factors are decreasing its availability. One of the reasons is the large scale installation of water tanks by the corporators in their wards. This practice makes it available for misuse without the realization that water is not ‘a never ending resource’. The amount of this water that gets misused by public could otherwise be used for a number of other activities, especially in rural areas where farmers rely heavily water for consumption. It is obvious that unless we store and use water efficiently, the next generation will have to face severe water shortage. Such practices should be stopped by the corporators in particular and everyone in general. With the growing level of scarcity, we must wake up to conserve it, or soon a time will come when water will only be remembered and not used. Jyoti Tiwari, Student
Topic of the month: Despite a ban, garbage continues to be burnt, especially during the winter months when even plastics, rubber tubes and tires are lit for warmth. Whose accountability would you say is the most in such cases: The common man’s; the government’s; the local administration’s or the local police’s? You may send your views in 200 words at treetakemagazine@gmail. Please also attach a colour photo of yourself.
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