That is G R Aloria a month into his current posting as Vadodara municipal commissioner. No fancy projects for him; it's back to the basics to ensure a responsive staff helps every citizen access all civic amenities in good measure.

To achieve his end, Aloria has even ruffled important feathers: deputy commissioners who were stripped of crucial powers; sanitary supervisors who were suspended; owners of illegal shops and walls that were demolished; residents and unit-owners whose unauthorised water connections were snapped.

It is safe to conclude, then, that the man has a gameplan. Aloria's first priority is water. According to the civic chief, the 5.6 crore gallons Vadodara receives every day is adequate for its population of 15 lakhs; it is only the distribution network that needs to be rationalised. That will require a study of the connections to ensure no locality has an excess.Besides, an filtration plant is being built at Nimeta to allow 1 crore gallons of water can be drawn daily from the Ajwa reservoir. ``We will take water to the uncovered areas'', he says determinedly.

If water is his first priority, drainage ``a more serious problem than it seems'' is not far behind. ``Plants aren't working to their full capacity and untreated domestic waste is being diverted into the stormwater drains, which leads to clogging'', says Aloria.

Expanding the capacities of the Wadi and Atladra sewage treatment plants at a cost of Rs 30 crores, Aloria knows, will be the answer for the existing drainage lines. But 40 per cent of the city, at present, does not even have a sewerage system.

The city needs a 20-year drainage master plan, Aloria feels, adding that the many small drainage lines that have been added on thoughtlessly have increased the civic body's headaches.

Next in Aloria's concern-list are the city's roads. He plans to lay streets bordered by pavements, with proper dividers, traffic lights and islands, apart from the 14 model roads. Unaligned roads are already being straightened out.

More than any of these projects, however, it is Aloria's demolition drive that has aroused the most controversy. The civic chief is confident he'll be able to withstand the pressures from the builder lobby and politicians. ``I am a stickler for rules. They will be enforced irrespective of the building-owners' status'', he says.

The commissioner, surprised that this year's octroi collections have fallen short of last year's, is also revamping the department concerned. More vehicles are being acquired for octroi personnel, while two police units will be set up to track down evaders. All this, he expects, will make the department richer by Rs 10 crores.

The other avenue of income -- property tax -- he says, has not been assessed at all in about 25,000 houses.

``If we try, we may find another 25,000 like them,'' Aloria says, adding that better assessment can earn them nearly Rs 10 crore more. He hopes to mop up another Rs 10 crore through the auction of VMC-owned commercial plots.

So far as managing the staff goes, Aloria says if they have to be responsive, they have to undertake field jobs as much as possible. ``Now that they have started going into the field frequently, they realise the magnitude of the mess. A lot can be done with 8,000 employees in the field'', he winds up.