‘I will stay among the people’ Kothari sets out his Jaipur roadmap

Jaipur: New mayor Sunil Kothari faces the task of restoring civic services after Jaipur went without an elected board for 10 months. In his maiden interview with TOI’s Prasidhi Sharma, Kothari said cleanliness would be his priority. He spoke about encroachments, illegal construction, heritage protection and retaining Jaipur’s UNESCO tag, while promising to remain accessible and work with all 150 councillors as ‘one team’.Q. What will be your priority as mayor?Kothari: During the campaign, I travelled across Jaipur and spoke to people in different wards. Sanitation was the biggest concern. My priority will be to make Jaipur clean and fully activate the corporation’s sanitation system across all wards.Q. Despite crores being spent, drains and sewers clog during the monsoon. What will you do differently?Kothari: These are problems that have to be addressed on the ground. Poor sanitation allows mud and silt to enter drains and clog sewers during rainfall. Roads and sewers also need proper cleaning to ensure water flows freely. It is not enough to talk about sanitation; effective cleaning has to be ensured.Q. How will you tackle illegal construction and roadside encroachments, especially amid political pressure?Kothari: The mayor represents the people and has to consider all sides, but pedestrians should get priority. I will first appeal to people to remove encroachments obstructing pedestrian movement and traffic. We also need to prevent new encroachments. Initially, we will use persuasion and appeals before developing a system that causes minimum inconvenience to pedestrians.Q. What is the biggest administrative challenge — accountability, staff shortages, funds or political interference?Kothari: The first requirement is political will. If there is will, issues of staff shortages, accountability, funding and public participation can be addressed. Jaipur has a 300-year-old heritage and king Sawai Jai Singh established it as a planned city. We have to restore its grandeur. If resources are lacking, we will seek support from the state and central govts and the public.Q. How will you balance heritage conservation with commercial development and protect Jaipur’s UNESCO tag?Kothari: The UNESCO designation has put Jaipur’s heritage on the global stage. I will assess the challenges and their causes and take decisive action to retain this recognition. We will work with the community and make the administration more effective to preserve Jaipur’s heritage.Q. Will you make a monthly report of your work public to remain accountable?Kothari: I will neither make any assurance nor talk about issuing reports. I will only say that I am among the people and will remain among them. I will work for the people and with all 150 councillors.Q. Five years from now, what would you want people to remember your tenure for?Kothari: I want the entire city to move forward while retaining people’s trust and taking every section and community along, without discrimination. We have to build on Sawai Jai Singh’s vision and Jaipur’s heritage and give future generations a city where the past, present and future come together. My effort will be to have residents, the administration, employees and councillors work as ‘one team’.