One would imagine that being the deputy mayor of the civic body would help this ward councillor get things done in a jiffy. But, that is not entirely true in case of Parminder Kataria.

Take, for example, the construction of the Railway Road in his ward. “For many months, I have been trying to finish the construction of this road being built at a cost of Rs 8.5 crore. While 80% of the work is over, 20% is still left as the electricity board is not shifting the poles coming in the way. While being the deputy mayor does help in getting work done by the MCG officials, it is not the same when it comes to other departments,” he says.

The other major problem is that there is no free MCG land. “Despite being a MCG ward, there is no vacant land in the ward that belongs to the municipal corporation. As a result, facilities like community centres and crematoriums are not being constructed in my ward,” he says.

Then, there are also unauthorized colonies, like Gupta Colony, that have come up, where the councillor cannot get any work done. “However, the recent notification will help me get work done in Ashok Vihar Phase-II, which is also
an unauthorized colony,” he adds.

Kataria says in the next two years of his term, he will ensure that no lane in his ward is left kutcha and that no house in his ward is without a water pipeline. “This I can promise that every street in my ward will be repaired and every house will have drinking water before my term ends. Also, I will try to educate those from the lower strata in my ward about the various government schemes and tell them how they can benefit from them,” he says.