Zakani: Municipal Services Provided Directly to the Lowest-Income Deciles

Tehran Mayor, meeting with a group of economists, announced that the city will identify the most disadvantaged segments of society using the capacity of neighborhood boards of trustees. He said the Tehran Municipality is working to deliver support services directly to the neediest groups in society.

In a meeting with a group of economists, the mayor of Tehran announced the identification of the most underprivileged sections of the society using the capacity of the neighborhood board of trustees and said: Tehran municipality is trying to provide support services directly to the most needy groups in the society.

According to the report of Arjan Ambassador, Alireza Zakani, the mayor of Tehran, in the gathering of economists, referring to the programs designed in the recent period of urban management, said: These programs are designed with the aim of cheapening, promoting welfare and improving living conditions in the city, and an important part of them focuses on economic issues and reducing household expenses.

Explaining the axes of these programs during the past months, especially after the Ramadan war, he pointed to the actions of the municipality in the field of public transportation and added: making public transportation free is on the agenda with the aim of increasing citizens' acceptance of this mode of transportation and reducing the cost of city trips.

Referring to the measures taken in the field of bus fleet renewal, Zakani stated: During this period, 2,500 new buses have entered the city; This is despite the fact that before this period, the number of buses entered into the fleet was 134, and in the previous 12-year period, a total of 2,600 buses were added to the fleet.

Referring to the measures taken in the field of rail transportation and making the use of the subway free, the mayor of Tehran continued: The goal is to reduce the share of the cost of city trips from the people's livelihood by developing public transportation and reducing the cost of using it.

He also announced plans to form a citizen's club in the future and said: In the framework of this plan, the use of public transportation will be free for some citizens, some citizens will receive subsidies, and another group will pay the full cost of the service.

Improving the quality of government education by developing educational infrastructure

Zakani further mentioned the programs of Tehran municipality in the field of education and said: In interaction with education, the development of infrastructures is pursued to improve the quality of public education and increase the number of families in public schools.

He added: In the first step, 10 large educational complexes have been located and the start of the project for 20 other complexes is also planned. In addition to improving educational infrastructure, these measures also have social and cultural dimensions.

Implementation of the program to stabilize the price of basic goods and reduce household expenses

The mayor of Tehran, explaining the plans of city management to support the livelihood of citizens, announced the implementation of a project called "zero inflation" in the field of basic goods and said: In this framework, five livelihood measures have been foreseen, one of which is to stabilize the price of 12 basic goods for a period of six months; The number of these items will be increased to 15 in the future.

Zakani emphasized: The purpose of implementing this plan is to create confidence for citizens, adjust household expenses and provide the possibility of better forecasting of living expenses.

He listed the elimination of middlemen and wholesale purchase as other axes of this program and stated: In this sector, fruit and vegetable fields play a central role. Also, the direct supply of producers' products is expected in Haft Bazarcheh and the expansion of this project to 22 districts of Tehran is followed.

Referring to the prices of goods in these centers, the mayor of Tehran said: the prices of some products sold in direct markets are even lower than the prices of fruit and vegetable markets. Also, the price of 12 items in the price stabilization plan is significantly lower than the free market in some cases. In this way, the price of beans in this plan is 130% lower than the free market.

Referring to the studies conducted on the performance of fruit and vegetable fields, Zakani said: According to the studies, the prices of products in these fields are on average 20-30% lower than the surrounding markets.

He added: In direct supply markets, prices are about 15 to 20 percent lower than fruit and vegetable markets due to the supply of goods by the producer.

The mayor of Tehran called the removal of 50% of the commercial profit of Shahrvand stores as one of the other livelihood measures of the municipality and said: "In the fruit and vegetable markets, the contracts of the exhibitors have been re-arranged so that the changes related to their profit share in the prices of goods are applied."

Direct support to low-income families and mothers

Referring to Tehran Municipality's support programs for vulnerable groups, Zakani said: One of the axes of this package is to identify and directly provide services to the most deprived deciles of the society, which will be done using the capacity of neighborhood trustees.

Emphasizing the necessity of supporting the needy, he considered the approach of this program to provide services to groups that need social support more than others.

The mayor of Tehran also announced the support package for mothers and babies and said: For each baby, a credit of between three and a half to four million tomans has been considered.

According to him, from this credit, 2 million and 500 thousand tomans will be allocated for the purchase of items needed by mothers and babies, 500 thousand tomans for the cultural sector, and between 500 thousand and 1 million tomans will be allocated for health services in Salem City.

Completing entrepreneurial chains from education to supply and export

Referring to urban management programs in the field of employment and entrepreneurship, the mayor of Tehran said: Another designed package is the creation and completion of production and entrepreneurship chains in Tehran, for which four chains have been designed in the first step, and two more chains will be added to this program in the future.

Zakani listed the areas of clothing, jewelry and gems, creative cultural industries and digital economy as the axes of this program and added: In this plan, centers have been established for registration of interested parties, training and providing the necessary facilities.

He continued: We are trying to complete the chain of people's activities from training and production to product supply and export. Also, in cases where it is possible to work at home, the necessary facilities are provided to people so that they can pursue their economic activity without the need of continuous presence in production centers.

Aiming to renovate 629 hectares of worn-out tissues in Tehran

In another part of his speech, Zakani mentioned the programs in the field of housing and said: "Tehran has about 7,400 hectares of worn out and unstable texture, and in the first step, the municipality has targeted 629 hectares of these areas in the form of 211 spots in 18 regions.

He added: The goal of this program is to create new patterns of urban development and increase housing production, along with the renovation of worn-out structures and the optimal management of energy and water consumption.

The mayor of Tehran stated that the municipality is seeking to play a more effective role in the housing market and clarified: a part of this program is dedicated to the municipality's entry into the field of professional leasing. Also, the creation of social houses for young couples and people who do not have enough financial power to provide housing is on the agenda.

Referring to the capacity of localities to implement housing projects, he said: In some localities, specific spots have been considered for this purpose. There is also 23 hectares of land in Harandi neighborhood, and the approach of the city management is to provide the land in the neighborhoods and assign the executive role to the board of trustees, to provide the possibility of building housing with the direct participation of the people.

Experimental implementation of the health program in 6 to 12 neighborhoods of Tehran

The mayor of Tehran, while explaining the programs in the health field, said that the city administration is seeking to accept responsibility in the field of outpatient treatment services and the referral system, under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and universities of medical sciences.

Zakani added: In this regard, a survey of factors affecting health at the city level is also planned. This program will first be implemented in 6 to 12 neighborhoods of Tehran on a trial basis, and after evaluating the results and gaining experience, it will be extended to the entire city of Tehran in the next 9 to 12 months.

Referring to similar experiences in some cities of the country, he said: actions in this field have already been carried out in the cities of Shiraz, Sari and Tabriz. Also, experiments are being implemented in Islamshahr and Garmsar, which have limitations in terms of comprehensiveness.

The mayor of Tehran continued: After presenting this plan, with the president's welcome, a policy staff has been formed in the Ministry of Health headed by the minister to follow up on the issue.

energy management; The largest economic package of Tehran municipality

Referring to Tehran municipality's plans in the field of energy, Zakani said: The energy management package is considered the largest package of municipal plans in terms of economic volume.