Urban local bodies the ‘first school & nursery’ of democracy: Haryana CM
Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday termed the urban local bodies the foundational institutions and the “first school and nursery” of democracy.
“The deeper the roots of democracy at the local level, the stronger our nation becomes,” he remarked.
Saini was addressing the first ever national conference of urban local bodies across country in Manesar, Gurugram.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Harvinder Kalyan also addressed the gathering.
“We are gathered here to deliberate on the vital role of urban local bodies in strengthening our democracy and contributing to nation-building. This theme guides us toward nurturing the grassroots of democracy and realising the vision of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’,” Saini said.
He said when modern infrastructure delivers quality services to citizens, people feel confident in the local governance.
“A developed India and a developed Haryana can only be achieved through developed cities,” he said.
Saini called Gurugram a model of urban development and said that five such modern cities are being set up under the Panch Gram Yojana along the 180-km Kundli Manesar Palwal corridor. The plan stands to benefit 75 lakh people, he said.
Saini referred to several state and central schemes, such as the AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme, Parivar Pehchan Patra, and Svamitva, to say that they brought ease into people’s lives.
He said that every municipal corporation in Haryana is using digital tools and even Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“The core mantra of our government is development with environmental sustainability,” he said.
The BJP leader also spoke about the virtues of cleanliness, and said it was an integral part of our ‘sanskars’ (values). He said that to achieve garbage-free cities, 100 per cent segregation of garbage at source is a must, as is bio-CNG, and the adoption of a circular economy.
