AAP releases names of candidates, manifesto for Gzb civic polls

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday announced its candidates for the Ghaziabad municipal body elections and released its manifesto promising free water, slashing of house tax, door-to-door pick-up of garbage and a city bus service among others.

AAP district convener Sachin Sharma said his party decided to contest the election because the Bharatiya Janata Party, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress have been involved in rampant corruption and siphoned off large sums of public money from government agencies.

Sharma said 20 candidates have been finalised for Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC), and 17 for Loni, Modi Nagar and Khoda municipal bodies.

Talking about the party manifesto, he said that if AAP comes to power, it will provide free clean water to residents and install free water ATMs at important public places.

"House tax will be cut to half, pendency of house tax would be waived off, electricity would be generated from garbage, condition of municipal schools would be improved, Mohalla clinics would be established in each ward and Mohalla sabhas would be set up in each ward," Sharma added.

Sharma stressed that local development work would be undertaken only after recommendations of the local mohalla sabhas and payments to contractors would only be made after they clear it.

He promised that garbage would be picked up at the door for free and drains would be covered to avoid spread of mosquitoes. The manifesto also promises a local city bus service to carry passengers within the city routes, connecting trans-Hindon and trans-Railway Line areas.

Revealing "shocking" expenditures on health, Sharma said that he came to know, through an RTI application, that GMC is spending Rs 70 crore on insecticides. Another Rs 1.5 crore, he claimed, was spent on maintenance of hand pumps. He said if AAP comes to power, income and expenditure records would be made transparent.