Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu Tuesday called for reformative measures to make the wings of the Corporation more people-friendly and efficient in delivery.Chairing a meeting with the senior officers of the SMC, representing different sections, Mayor Mattu reviewed their functioning, sought status report of current projects and issued fresh directives to the staff. The Mayor issued specific directives to pace up the beautification of the city. He ordered clearance of the footpaths and intensification of anti-encroachments drives.Mayor Mattu stressed that there is a need to decentralize building permissions, besides more easy-to-get processes for birth and death certification.“Process for the building permissions and birth and death certification should be initiated at the ward levels. An applicant should be able to submit documents and collect permissions and other certificates at that level. This will save the time of the applicant and makes the system more reliable,” said Mr. Mattu.He said before launching fresh anti-encroachment drives a proper vending zones need to be created. “We have to be economically conscious while rehabilitating them. Our people should go for a census in their wards concerned to categorize the vendors, like sabzi wallahs, fruit sellers etc. A well thought out plan for the vendors will be conceived to decongest the city,” he said.He also called for efficient drainage system and asked the Superintending Engineer (SE), Drainage Section, to come up with the list of optimally functional and choked drains in the city.
Srinagar requires more attention to provide smooth functioning of drainage, especially during snowfall and rainy days. Our corporation will provide full support in procuring machines and man power to avoid any submergences during the wet weather. It would be a historic contribution if we put efforts to stop sewage from flowing into drains,” he said.The Mayor said to make Srinagar rabies free and to curb with dog bite cases, segregation of waste at the house hold level and shutting of the open garbage points, 70 percent of which has already been closed down, requires urgent attention.He sought a list of mutton and chicken sellers in Srinagar in order to come up with guidelines for slaughtering and disposing of the leftover waste in more scientific way.Calling for revival of MOU signed with SKAUST for resuming dog sterilization program, the Mayor said there is a requirement of five hundred stray dogs to be sterilized per day. “Services of unemployed veterinary surgeons on honorarium basis will be hired after taking up the matter with the animal husbandry department,” he said.Directions were also passed on to facilitate the capacity building program for SMC officials.The SMC will raise awareness among the city dwellers through print, electronic and local media on maintaining proper sanitation in and around the localities and avoid littering of edible waste, which has direct effect on proliferation rate of stray dogs.He said a state of the art recycling plant will be set up at Achan. “There is need to switch to waste to energy plant to generate revenue,” he said.The meeting was attended by Commissioner SMC Peerzada Haffizullah, Joint Commissioner And Abdul Majeed Raina, Joint Commissioner Planning, S.E Drainage Secretary SMC, all executives Engineers, Chief Sanitation Officer, Chief Enforcement Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, Informatics Officer. Public Relations Officer and ward Officers.