Hyderabad, Jan 5 (IANS) The central government has asked municipal bodies to mobilise resources by levying taxes wherever necessary to improve basic civic amenities.
Underlining the need for reforms for better urban governance, union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu urged the urban bodies to go for credit rating and bring transparency and accountability in their functioning.
He advised them to mobilise resources locally by levying or revising existing taxes after convincing people that they will get better infrastructure and services.
He also suggested that they raise loans from banks and national and international financial institutions by improving credit rating.
Naidu said they should not merely look to the central government and the states for funds.
He was addressing municipal commissioners of cities with a population of more than a lakh.
Municipal commissioners from over 70 cities and officials of urban development departments from the five southern states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh - and the union territory of Puducherry are attending the day-long consultative workshop.
This is the first workshop organised by the ministry before launching its new initiatives on urban development and housing.
The minister asked the municipal bodies to take up digitisation of properties, revenues, assets and other details, saying the central government will provide the necessary funds for the project.
Naidu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants all municipal bodies to start a website and an electronic news digest, giving details of its activities and prepare a list of the poor.
The minister also wanted them to frame rules and regulations for better governance in their respective areas without approaching state governments.
Stating that every state will get two to three smart cities, Naidu made it clear that the central government will provide no funds and that the urban bodies will have to raise private investment and go for public-private partnership model.
Anna Hazare Strike: Anna Hazare's hunger strike was postponed against the liquor policy of the Maharashtra government, told this reason
Social activist Anna Hazare had announced an indefinite hunger strike from Monday last week against the Maharashtra government's decision to allow the sale of liquor in supermarkets and grocery
Covid ICU Bed Full In Some Private Hospitals Amid Increased Corona Cases, Delhi Government To Review
New Delhi: Corona figures continue to rise in the capital Delhi. According to the data released by the Health Department of the Delhi Government, on Monday, the highest number of cases have been
Very few officials know business rules: Parrikar
Panaji, March 8 (IANS) Very few people in government, both in the states as well as at the Centre, were familiar with rules of government business, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on
Recovery from fugitive businessmen: Center told Supreme Court - Mallya, Modi, and Choksi have so far returned Rs 18,000 crore to banks
So far, Rs 18,000 crore has been recovered from businessmen Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi, who fled the country after committing bank fraud of thousands of crores. The Central Government
International Mother Language Day: Amit Shah said - use your language more and more, and the country will be prosperous
On the occasion of International Mother Language Day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated the people on Tuesday. He said that this is an opportunity to connect with the mother tongue and take
IRCTC / Indian Railways News: Railways can run 300 special trains during lockdown This is condition
The third phase of lockdown is going on across the country from May 4, which will run till May 17. If you remember, on the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Indian Railways has started
Cricket commentary with sports stars an honour for Big B
Mumbai, Feb 15 (IANS) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan felt honoured Sunday to do commentary for the India-Pakistan match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with cricket legends like Kapil Dev and Rahul
US: India is playing an 'important role' globally, officials gave statement before PM Modi's US visit
America is ready to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's top official for the Indo-Pacific region said on Tuesday that he hoped that PM Modi's visit would
AAP's politics is not to stop Modi: Sisodia
New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) The AAP's politics is not aimed at "stopping" Prime Minister Narendra Modi but it is about transparency in governance, party leader Manish Sisodia said Thursday.He also
We gave away too many runs: Holder
Nelson (New Zealand), Feb 16 (IANS) West Indies captain Jason Holder Monday rued his choice of field setting for leaking too many runs in the middle overs to hand minnows Ireland an emphatic