Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged mayors of BJP-led urban local bodies to focus on holistic development of their cities and give priority to ease of living. PM Modi was addressing a two-day BJP mayors’ Conclave at Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar through video conferencing.
The Prime Minister asked them to work for the betterment of their cities through people’s participation. The Municipal Corporations are closely connected with the day to day lives of the people, so it is the responsibility of the mayors to gain the trust of the citizens, he said.
In his inaugural remarks, Modi said, “The elected representatives should not think just in terms of winning elections. You cannot develop your city with an election-centric approach. Many times, decisions which could prove beneficial for the cities are not taken just out of the fear that such decisions can result in election loss.”
Today, when regeneration of our cities is the need of the hour, the focus must move beyond an election centric approach to public welfare. pic.twitter.com/6UZZBIO5mv
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 20, 2022
Modi asked mayors to focus on planned urban development, building economic centres, better urban transport and housing and cleanliness in their cities. He told the representatives of the urban local bodies to the cities and the States must work jointly in planning and infrastructure development.
The Prime Minister said, before 2014, there was only 250 kilometres of metro rail network in the country which has increased upto 775 kilometres today. He said, work on more than 1,000 kilometres of metro rail network is going on in the country.
He also said that the BJP government is focussing on building smart amenities in the cities. He asked the mayors to work for the betterment of urban poors and take their cities to a level that future generations will remember their work.
Party President Jagat Prakash Nadda, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and BJP State Unit Chief C. R. Patil were present on the occasion. More than 100 mayors and deputy mayors of BJP-ruled urban local bodies from 18 States and Union Territories across the country participated in the conclave.