AMC to hold its weekly meeting in China

The municipal corporation standing committee will hold its next meeting on Thursday in the distant land of Nanjing, China, where its members have gone to attend the World Urban Forum conference.

The municipal corporation standing committee will hold its next meeting on Thursday in the distant land of Nanjing, China, where its members have gone to attend the World Urban Forum WUF conference.

The WUF conference, which started on November 3, will continue till November 6 with its focus on urban issues. It is being sponsored by HUDCO. The standing committee meeting, on the other hand, will take up routine issues. The objective is to meet the statutory compulsion of holding a meeting every week without failure.

Criticising the venue for holding the meet, senior Congress councillor Liyaqat Ghori said in an acidic tone: 8220;The members want to give the impression that they are so concerned about the welfare of the city that they have not forgotten its residents even in a foreign land.8221; He said the timing of the meeting could have been adjusted so as to convene it before going to China or after returning from there.

He said the decision to hold the meeting in China was an attempt to gain cheap publicity. 8220;It will be worthwhile if the visit reflects in some meaningful study made during the World Urban Forum,8221; he said. The committee members will return on November 9 after visiting Shanghai.

Apart from committee chairman Asit Vora and ruling BJP leader in the AMC, Dr Kamlesh Patel, some Congress members of the committee are also in China apart from the regular members and deputy commissioners M S Patel and Capt. Dilipkumar Mahajan. AMC Congress leader Surendra Baxi defended the move saying that in the past, the then committee chairman Jayantilal Parmar had held a committee meeting in the US.

8220;There is nothing wrong if the cost of the visit is borne by a third party, other than the AMC and the participants,8221; he said.

HUDCO is learnt to have sponsored the meeting as part of its programme to build the capacity of the councilors in running the daily affairs of the municipal corporation.