Thane: TheThane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Commissioner Abhijit Bangar has appealed to Thanekars to register their votes in Citizen Perception Survey-2022 which starts from November 1.
This is a part of the Central Government initiative to create a guide system on increasing the participation of citizens while deciding the city planning policy in the Smart City scheme. Under this scheme, collection of various forms of information related to the city starts from different departments.
For example, the public transport in the city. About 372 types of information such as the number of encroached areas, the number of schools and grounds are collected by the TMC, while some information has been collected by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Union Government.
On Saturday, a meeting called by TMC chief Abhijit Bangar for reviewing the Smart City scheme, was attended by Chief Executive Officer of Smart City and TMC Additional Commissioner Sandeep Malvi, Chief Technical Officer Praveen Papalkar, along with senior officers and advisors.
The Central Government is evaluating the information and the best performing city will get a prize. Earlier, Thanekars had done commendable work during the Bharatiya Swachhta League which earned them the 'Most Impactful City' category prize. The Smart City administration is expecting Thanekars’ public opinion to be received well time too.
Rapid urbanization in the country will see the population of 37.7 crore in 2011 go up to an estimated 60 crore by 2030. The contribution of cities in the economic development of the country is also important. Keeping cities safe, providing quality health, education, infrastructure, maintaining clean air and creating employment opportunities is a major challenge. The information being collected and validated will be scrutinized by the Central Government, it will be open to citizens.
In the next phase of the same program, from November 1, 2022, the government will conduct a 'Citizen Perception Survey 2022' in 100 smart cities of the country to get their reactions and suggestions by including the citizens. Votes can be registered online. Once its link is available, it will be forwarded to Thanekars.
TMC chief Bangar said, "It is a kind of competition and will be held simultaneously in 100 cities across the country. If Thane wants to reach the top, TMC officials and citizens will have to work together. The information collected will be useful in policy making."
Additional Commissioner Malvi said, "The Central Government is going to analyse the information and provide a guide to the Thane civic body in terms of city development. This information will be informative for transparency, and inclusiveness."
The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) in association with Thane Smart City Limited and Wheels and Barrels organised a cycle rally on Sunday, October 16 to interact with the people of Thane about voting in 'Citizen Perception Survey 2002'.
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