A K Nigam takes over as DDA Vice-Chairman

New Delhi, Feb 22 (UNI) Former Municipal Corporation of Delhi Commissioner Ashok Kumar Nigam today took over as Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority with a resolve to bring transparency and accountability in the administration and timely completion of projects pertaining to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

''Our systems and processes need to be lent greater transparency and accountability. It should be our endeavour to ensure that people do not have to make rounds of Government offices to get their work done,'' Mr Nigam said.

Talking about the introduction of a system of online payment of property tax in the MCD by him during his tenure as Commissioner, Mr Nigam said, as system to facilitate online payment of dues and clearing of the building plans was on the anvil and could be in place as early as March.

A system for complete computerisation and delivery of services with speed and efficiency through better coordination, dissemination of information etc was also in pipeline.

''My endeavour would be to make systems and procedures in the DDA completely people friendly, requiring only the requisite interaction where every customer will be viewed and attended to with utmost trust and courtesy,'' he said.

Among Mr Nigam's priorities in his new post would be the timely completion of the various Commonwealth Games related projects being undertaken by the DDA.

''Whatever projects are in the pipeline with regard to the 2010 Commonwealth Games will be completed in a time bound manner,'' he said.

A senior IAS officer of the the 1974 batch, Mr Nigam succeeds the outgoing Vice Chairman Dinesh Rai, who demitted the post after being appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME).

Mr Nigam, who was the Commissioner in the MCD from November 2005 till date, said his experience as the MCD Commissioner would stand him in good stead while carrying out implementation of policies in the DDA.

''For me, MCD and DDA are two sides of the same coin. While MCD is formulating the policies, its proper implementation lies in the hands of the DDA. In this context, the experience as MCD Commissioner will come in handy while implementing developmental plans at the ground level,'' Mr Nigam said.

Mr Nigam said the sealing and demolition crisis witnessed in Delhi over the last two years had shown that there is some lacunae between the demand and supply in the city which was why one saw encroachment and unauthorised construction in various parts of the city.

He said, as the Vice Chairman of the DDA, his endeavour would be to ensure that the planning was in tune with ground realities.

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