The Hindu : New Delhi News : Councillors look for `Clean Delhi' tips in Mumbai, Goa

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Councillors look for `Clean Delhi' tips in Mumbai, Goa

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 14. Combining "work with pleasure'', over two dozen municipal councillors from Delhi are "picnicking'' on the beaches of Mumbai these days, looking for tips on how to green the Capital.

On an eight-day study tour of Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Goa, the delegation led by the Leader of the MCD House, Satbir Singh, and the Standing Committee Chairman, Mukesh Goel, has an interesting travel itinerary which makes allowances for shopping and dining in luxurious hotels besides giving the councillors time off to explore the beautiful Arabian Sea coastline.

While the councillors busy themselves, the two officials of the Horticulture Department, which has sponsored the study trip, have been calling on their counterparts there to prepare a report on greening Delhi.

The councillors, who reached Ahmedabad on September 10, were put up in a luxury hotel and taken to a few tourist spots. All along their travel, they looked for tips on how to improve roadside tree plantation. The delegation had dinner with the Governor of Gujarat and left for Mumbai the next evening where they stayed at Centaur Hotel.

According to the travel itinerary, on September 12 the councillors "explored" the Juhu beach. One of them lamented over the phone from Mumbai that there were not enough parks there and Delhi was a much greener city. "It is a concrete jungle here," he said. On Monday, the councillors shopped and also visited the Gateway of India.

On Tuesday, the councillors are scheduled to visit the gorgeous beaches of Goa. Exploring the beaches would continue for two days and on the eve of their departure, they would be visiting some of the important cathedrals and coconut groves there.

In fact, Goa has been one of the most favourite destination of the councillors. Over the past few years, the elected representatives have been visiting Goa regularly as part of their study trip to make Delhi a slum-free city. Senior MCD officials said on most occasions the reports of such study trips were not submitted. "Even if they were submitted, they were prepared by officials and never implemented.''

The only exception perhaps was their trip to Kerala a few years ago to study how panchakarma treatment system could be brought to Delhi. "Based on the report prepared by the councillors, the MCD opened a Panchakarma Hospital in Rohini," officials said.

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