Deputy commissioner Amit Khatri, a 2011 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, took additional charge as the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) commissioner on Tuesday morning. Khatri succeeds Vinay Singh, a 2003 batch IAS officer, who served as the MCG commissioner for less than three weeks.

Khatri had earlier served as the additional commissioner of the MCG from July 2016 to May 2017, when he played a key role in introducing online payments of property tax, establishing a connection with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which paved the way for developments such as usage of plastic in constructing roads, and mandating the planting of trees in front of each new house.

Khatri spoke to Hindustan Times about learning from his past experience in the MCG and handling two demanding jobs at the same time.

A- My immediate areas of focus would be desilting drains and improving sanitation. These are two issues I would want to dedicate the most amount of my time to. Especially with monsoon around the corner, desilting should be the top priority of any civic body. For sanitation, we would use the assistance of residents extensively.
Based on the complaints of residents, wherever the door-to-door collection of waste, garbage collection points, or street cleaning is not up to the mark, we would execute changes, and try to ensure that the communication between residents and officials is increased for redressal.
I have been given an update on sanitation facilities by senior MCG officials. Overall, I want to give the city a cleaner look during my tenure.

A- On my first day as MCG commissioner, I did review desilting preparations. I also took an update from the engineering wing officials about the matter. I was informed that it is not necessary to desilt drains completely every year, as patchwork can help ensure rainwater does not accumulate on the surface. I will be verifying this claim personally, by visiting some of the sites.
Simultaneously, I was also told that work on the 241-kilometre drains is nearing completion, while work on the remaining 109 kilometres is underway. We will try to ensure that none of the critical points experience waterlogging this season, and as a precautionary measure, keep necessary backup vis-a-vis equipment and manpower ready beforehand to counter it.

A- It will definitely one of my endeavours. Just like two years ago, I would want to spend some time in the MCG first to understand the various types of requirements in online services that citizens need. Once that is clear, necessary tie-ups with private companies and assistance services would be identified in due time.

A- I would be relying on senior officers, both in the district administration and the MCG, for guidance and also to get the work done. In both departments, officers and officials are competent, and hence, handling both the jobs would not be hard.

A- Vertical gardens are definitely something that I have plans for, among other things that are inspired by not just the BBMP but civic agencies across the country as well as Haryana. In time, residents will start seeing some development pertaini

First Published: Jul 03, 2019 03:16 IST