Not all annual budget announcements at the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation gets implemented or even gets off the ground. Some promises are repeated in multiple budgets, with no action being taken for implementation. Considering such past experiences, the civic body has this year for the first time formed special committees to ensure timely implementation of the Budget promises.
These committees consisting of people’s representatives as well as officials will meet every month to monitor the progress of each of the projects. Such committees have been formed for monitoring the 134 budget promises. This is the first time that the Corporation is forming committees dedicated just to monitor the progress of budget promises, in addition to the existing standing committees which have a host of additional responsibilities.
The committee to monitor activities for the Carbon Neutral Trivandrum projects will be headed by the Works Standing Committee Chairperson, while an executive engineer will be the implementing officer.
As part of the Carbon neutral city project, an amount of ₹55 crore has been allocated. More vehicles will be added to the city’s fleet of electric buses with the Corporation planning to buy 100 e-buses for the KSRTC this year in addition to 100 e-carts for the Haritha Karma Senas.
The committee for waste management related projects will be headed by the health standing committee chairperson and the health officers and health supervisors as the implementing officers for the various projects under it. The second phase of the ‘My City, Beautiful City’ waste management programme is set to be launched, with a total allocation of ₹43 crore for waste management activities.
The committee for projects for promoting entrepreneurship and for supporting the initiatives launched in the previous year under the scheme will be headed by the development standing committee chairperson, who will also head the committee for agriculture related projects. According to Corporation officials, the committees will be tasked with keeping a tab on whether the pace of implementation is in line with the proposed target numbers for the year mentioned for each project in the budget.
