NEW DELHI: More than 2,500 Resident Welfare Associations under the banner of United Residents Joint Action (URJA) of Delhi released a “People’s Manifesto” on Tuesday ahead of MCD elections with demands to make Delhi “liveable, breathable and commutable.”The manifesto, released in an event on Tuesday, underlines 7 topline demands, and 12 goals and provides solutions to achieve them. The resident's demands focus on pollution woes of the city and call upon goals-defined actions to address the issue.
Among the goals for MCD, the manifesto calls for better ward-level waste management, making 80 per cent of the city’s roads conducive to pedestrians, cyclists and for non-motorised transport, increasing forest cover which has been stagnant at 21 per cent since 2015, dedicated sheds, sterilisation and care for stray animals and procuring only electric vehicles for the corporation.
“Most air pollution action plans of government emphasise on increasing tree cover and do not aim to reduce and remove sources of pollution through technology, finance and awareness. Delhi has 13 air pollution hotspots including Wazirpur and RK Puram. While Wazirpur has a lot of industries and commercial clusters, RK Puram has a significantly higher tree cover. Then why is RK Puram still an air pollution hotspot? The action plans need to take a bottom-up approach to tackle ward-level pollution sources instead of a generic, one-size-fits-all approach and solutions,” said Wing Commander Jasbir Chadda, Secretary General, URJA
The other demands include a roadmap in the first 100 days of new councillors assuming office with “measurable, time-bound and ward-specific goals” to achieve citizen demands over the next five years.
Additionally, the manifesto demanded that the roadmap must be followed by publishing regular reports on progress, budget and expenses.