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Other Interviews

Education :
Dr.Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Film Directors :
Shekhar Suri
Pop Stars :
Smita
Cine Actors :
Murali Mohan
Lava Kusa
Cine Actor
Philanthropist :
Dr. Ratnam V Mullapudi
   Cardiac surgeon
Mr. Sudarshan
   Chief Organiser of
    Khairatabad Ganesh
    Utsav Committee
Elite of the city :
A. Gandhi
D.N.Gauri
Mr.NarendraLuther
Former Chief Secretary of A.P.
Mr.VinodReddy
   Pub Tycoon.
Dr.Raja Reddy
   Neuro- Numismologic surgeon.
Raju Narisetti
   Managing Editor, Wall Street Journal, Europe.
Dr.V.Nagesh
   Hypnotherapist
Anju Poddar
   Author (a journey to the heavens)
Srinivas Sarma
   Freelancer Writer
Mann Singh
Ex-Secretary, H C A.
Mrs.T Malathi
   Head of Department,
   St Annes College
Officials :
Dinaker Prasad
Deputy Commissioner
   of Police
H J Dora
Director General
   A.P.Police
LV Subramanyam
MD, SAAP
PK Mohanty
Commissioner, MCH.
Ramavatar Yadav
Dir. Gen., ACB.
Shalini Mishra
Dir. of Woman Dev. and
Child Welfare
Politicians:
C C REDDY
Y S Rajasekhar Reddy
CLP Leader
Social Workers :
Jayaprakash Narayan
Campaigning Coordinator,
Lok Satta.
Bathini Harinath Goud
Bathini Fish Medicine,
Family Member.
Sports Stars :
Shivlal Yadav
Cricket Player
Siraj Atari
Polo Player.
Kanwaljit Singh
Hyderabad Ranji
Cricket Player.
Venkatapathi Raju
Indian Cricketer
V V S Laxman
   Indian Cricketer
Others :
P S Nehru
Numerologist

Municipal Commissioner, Hyderabad

An interview with Mr. P K Mohanty, Municipal Commissioner, Hyderabad.

Dr PK Mohanty, during whose term as the municipal commissioner of Hyderabad visible changes have taken place both on the front of civic administration and very look of the city, talks about the objectives of Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) in an exclusive chat with khojhyderabad.com. It has been a long journey for Mohanty since his days as a teacher in economics in the Delhi University to heading the MCH. Actually it is the application of simple economics and management philosophy to municipal administration that has enabled him to achieve results as the chief of MCH. And one finds a trace of conviction in his voice

when he claims that right now our city is one of the best-lit cities in the country, especially after the introduction of modern lighting system on the lines of Singapore.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q. What are the basic goals of MCH and how far have you succeeded in attaining them?
A. Our main priorities are sanitation and greenery. Keeping these in view, we are going in for a lot of plantations. That apart, the MCH is growing a lot of parks and playgrounds at different places in the city to expand the much-needed green cover. Moreover, what is encouraging is that there is a lot of involvement from the communities in the urban areas. In addition, we are trying to revive the water bodies. In order to encourage community participation, the MCH works in close collaboration with Resident Welfare Associations to improve sanitation in their respective areas like settlements and residential colonies. To keep the city clean, we have privatized both collection and disposal of garbage. Right now 65 per cent of garbage collection and disposal in the city is being done by the private sector. In our drive to make the city clean and green, we also work jointly with the Hyderbad Urban Development Authority (HUDA). HUDA does the planning for us.

Q. What is the main reason behind the demolition drive taken up by the MCH in many parts of Hyderabad?
A. Actually, the idea is to widen the roads so that the general traffic situation would improve considerably. At the same time, the MCH has to demolish unauthorized construction. In fact, we had made meticulous planning much before this demolition drive started. As far as demolition is concerned, we enjoy a lot of public support. Well the vested-interest groups are not quite happy with us though.

Q. Did you face any resistance while demolishing a landmark like decades-old Shanbhag hotel from the face of the city?
A. There was absolutely no objection from any quarter. The position of the hotel was such that it was creating a lot of traffic bottleneck in the adjoining areas. Now after the demolition of Shanbhag, the traffic congestion would come down drastically at the Panjagutta circle.

Q. What are the reforms you have brought about in municipal tax structure.
A. We have introduced the practice of self-assessment in case of property tax. This is very much like the income tax returns wherein the taxpayers have to file his returns. If the taxpayers fail to do so then the MCH will swing in to levy the tax. In fact following this, our collection has gone up by 60 per cent. This self-assessment practice preempts any possibility of litigation against the corporation. And that apart, this practice of self-assessment inculcates a strong sense of involvement in the taxpayer who in turn can demand better services from the MCH. We have another novel concept called impact fee where the owners of large commercial construction have to mitigate the pollution and congestion caused by their structure. And they do it by paying this impact fee. However, this concept of impact fee is widely prevalent in North American cities.

Q. What are the main challenges of MCH and what is its current motto?
A. The basic issues like sewerage, drinking water supply, road widening still remain the causes for botheration. Tax collection is a major spot of bother as well since many here do not pay taxes willingly. But hopefully the situation would improve once our reforms fall into places. And as far as our motto is concerned, we would like to see Hyderabad as a clean, green, model and livable city, second to none. Already we have twice received the national award for cleanliness.

Rudy Mohan