With the state government granting nod to a city-to-city knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation framework, the Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad municipal corporations are all set to explore a partnership on urban governance. The corporation is gearing up to study Ahmedabad’s practices in tax collection, municipal bonds, cleanliness, CBG plants and tourism.
The initiative, conceived following the visit by Mayor V V Rajesh to Ahmedabad, is expected to cover a wide range of areas, including revenue mobilisation, waste management, tourism development, project implementation and e-governance.
“We are exploring better administrative practices from other municipal corporations that can be adapted for our city. During our visit to Ahmedabad, we observed commendable models in city cleanliness and tourism development projects,” Mayor V V Rajesh told TNIE.
The stated areas of cooperation include exchange of technical expertise, administrative best practices, institutional learning and implementation methodologies.
A top official with the corporation said preparation will begin soon to draw up an MoU. “A team from the civic body will visit Ahmedabad. We will assess the practices that could be adapted to the city’s requirements. A team from Ahmedabad will also visit us,” said the official.
According to the official, the Corporation is interested in understanding how Ahmedabad has achieved high levels of property tax collection.
On the finance side, the official said they would like to explore the use of municipal bonds.
“Waste management is another potential area of cooperation, especially their experience with CBG plants. They have several CBG plants in Ahmedabad. We are planning to set up a CBG plant here as well. We will go study those aspects and then adapt that technology here,” the official said.
The government has granted permission for the proposed framework under strict conditions