Arvind took over Ward 36 Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, in the year 2017 as a councillor and since then has been working relentlessly to make his ward a better place. The young councillor’s appointment was seen as a welcome and long overdue change towards more political representation for the ward. The ward has been neglected earlier by various administrations. The many neighbourhoods that come within the ward required basic infrastructure — from drinking water to connectivity to sanitation, issues that Mr Chaudhary has been solving during his tenure.
“What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” said Henry David Thoreau. Councillor Adv. Arvind Chaudhary lives by this quote. His people centric-approach and hard work have resulted in a better lifestyle for the people of his ward.
Commenting on the challenges that he has attempted to overcome Adv Chaudhary says “I always wanted to make a difference to the community and the neighbourhood. There were many issues that this ward faced earlier be it the drainage systems or the roads. With the support of the citizens, we have been able to resolve many of the problems and are inching towards making this ward a better place every day. I am sure that very soon the ward will be a model for others to follow. We are actively reaching out to citizens through various mediums be it the social media channels or dedicated telephone and WhatsApp contact numbers, and listening to their concerns.”
Even when Mr Chaudhary is out of station or unable to personally attend to the calls, two of his assistants note down the complaints received on the number and enter them into an Excel sheet, which the councillor would check periodically and sort out. Two persons are working in shifts to note down the complaints received on the number. “We receive complaints on sanitation, drinking water supply, drainage clogging, and other issues. Every day, I go through the complaints entered on an Excel sheet at various hours and address them. This system helps me ensure that there are no pending issues, and also find out those that need the attention of higher officials” added Adv Chaudhary.
Be it waste disposal, re-laying of roads, mosquito menace, cleaning of parks, potholes, open manholes, etc. the complaints have reduced tremendously after the extensive work done by the councillor and his team. “My office is open for everyone and we reply to every resident who messages us. We regularly interact with all association heads and residents to understand the nuances. With our ears to the ground, we can solve basic civic issues as quickly as possible. Citizen’s active involvement in civic issues has benefitted the ward” he said.
The green belt of the ward has seen unprecedented numbers in Adv. Chaudhary’s tenure due to extensive tree plantation drives undertaken at multiple places including the land freed from illegal encroachments. The efforts not only ended at the tree plantation but the planted trees were also extensively monitored to ensure growth and maintenance. The second focus was road development and re-laying. Many of the roads were damaged and not repaired for more than half a decade. Apart from the re-laying of the roads, stormwater management work was also carried on simultaneously for holistic development. “I hope I can continue to do so for as long as my people need me,” said an elated Adv Chaudhary as he signed off for the moment.