MCD polls: Delhiites prefer sanitation over property tax elimination, says survey

New Delhi: Elections to three civic bodies here are around the corner and a survey participated in by 48,000 citizens across the capital has revealed that the majority of them want sanitation to be considered the topmost priority.

"The top most priority identified by citizens is overall sanitation, clean roads and public toilets with 57 per cent of them voting for it," according to a survey conducted by the LocalCircles citizen engagement platform. 

"Around 26 per cent citizens voted for better sewerage, waste disposal and segregation of waste as a priority," it said. 

The survey said that only 8 per cent citizens wanted property tax to be reduced, showing that citizens are ready to pay their taxes but would rather want better services and sanitation in the city.

In a parallel poll, 42 per cent citizens wanted ethics and honesty to be the top-most quality of the candidate while 41 per cent voted for implementation capability. 14 per cent voted for proactive approach as the top most quality.

Deterioration of municipal services will be a major issue during the elections, as 45 per cent citizens say that the municipal services have deteriorated in the last five years, while 43 per cent said the service delivery have remained more or less the same. 

Disposal of waste is a major challenge in Delhi with existing landfills overflowing and becoming ecological disasters. 

For 36 per cent of the citizens, waste disposal is a major challenge and landfills are not a solution to it. 

While 33 per cent of citizens said that waste treatment plants are the solution, 22 per cent said that door-to-door waste collection has to be improved in Delhi. These are the real problems that citizens of Delhi are suffering from and candidates need to address them.

Cleaning of streets at night is an activity that is considered the most efficient world over and 91 per cent of Delhi citizens want their municipal corporation to make this a practice in their wards.

Political parties have offered to waive off property taxes but instead 89 per cent want the property taxes to be collected timely.