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Greater Hyderabad |
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Let us make Greater Hyderabad a truly Great Hyderabad!
Hyderabad until now has been famous for its biryani, laidback tehzeeb and of course, Charminar. Only in the recent past has this city made a name for its information technology-and-services based industry. Since the past decade, Hyderabad has been at the forefront of the citizens’ movement for fundamental democratic and governance reforms in our country. This city that has been providing a platform and direction for reform movement across India is now facing a unique opportunity to transform itself.
The stakes high: nearly 10% of the entire AP State’s population of over 7.5 crores resides in this newly-formed Greater Hyderabad whose area is nearly double the size of Singapore. Even as the opportunities for growth in Hyderabad have increased dramatically, thanks largely due to the entrepreneurial spirit of our people, the standards of living have actually declined on several fronts. With increasing and poorly-planned urbanization, its infrastructure is crumbling and public services have come under severe stress despite increased public spending. All it takes is a brief spell of monsoon shower to expose the miserable state of its roads and flyovers, poorly managed traffic or the dilapidated sewerage network. The woefully below-par public health facilities and the depressing state of the public education system are all too familiar. Additionally, we have increasing air, water and noise pollution, water and power scarcities driven by systemic inefficiencies, severe shortages in housing and sanitation facilities and lowered sense of security, especially in the sub-urban areas.
The city faces two choices in the immediate future: it can move to a higher trajectory of better planned, equitable growth and prosperity and thereby become one of India’s leading wealth creation and knowledge economy hubs. Or it can continue down the path of haphazard expansion, massive wastage of public resources and a further deterioration in the overall quality of life. The choice has to be made by the city’s leadership and the political institutions. But the choice of city leadership itself would be made by the citizens in the upcoming Greater Hyderabad elections. But, whatever path the city takes, it would have a multiplier effect not just across AP State but arguably, across India as well.
Hyderabad deserves the New Political Culture!
Politics should be all about harmonizing individual interests with collective progress. Instead, today’s politics has become a mere power game and elected office has become synonymous with corruption, patronage and inefficiency. The present political leadership in the city neither reflects the changed demography nor is able to shape and fulfill the aspirations of the younger generation. While the citizens have helped create a first world economy in Hyderabad, they are forced to live with a third world politics. Over the years, the educated and middle class, youth and women - all have shown signs of strong disenchantment with contemporary politics. Not surprisingly, voting trends even reflect increasing disengagement. This can be allowed to continue only at great risk to our collective future.
It is time politics is literally owned by the young, educated, poor, disempowered and marginalized communities. It is time politics showed the way towards eliminating corruption in public life, providing quality and meaningful public healthcare and education, improving vital public services and helped fulfill the potential of the city and its residents.
These are precisely the objectives of Lok Satta’ campaign for ushering in a New Political Culture. This movement has already started on a winning note: (i) in Mumbai, via the VOTEJUHU campaign where the democratically chosen citizens’ candidate for the Juhu (Ward-63) of Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation created history by winning in the face of massive and brazen deployment of money power by the mainstream parties’ candidates and (ii) In Ghaziabad (UP), where the electoral candidates endorsed collectively by the citizens won in nearly half the seats in the Municipal Council and the office of the Mayor.
Lok Satta Party’s campaign in Hyderabad would focus the entire local political process and political discourse on transportation, water supply, sewerage, public health and education, housing and infrastructure for urban poor. Empowerment of local governance and establishing instruments of transparency and accountability to radically improve the public services and curb corruption too are at the heart of this effort.
Together, let us initiate a citizens’ dialogue and build a campaign for transforming Greater Hyderabad into a truly Great Hyderabad. The time has come for Hyderabad to usher in a Nayi Siyasi Tehzeeb!
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Phone: (+91) -040 - 2323-2829/2711/1818/3637/2329-9227 Email: info@loksattaparty.com Fax : (+91) 040 - 2323-0111 Address: Lok Satta Party, 5-10-180/A & A1, Band Lanes, Adarsh Nagar, Hyderabad - 500 004. AP, India.
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