|
Only 30% works completed: Ward council chiefs
Clearing Of Drains Behind Schedule, Firemen Undergo Training For Rains
Mumbai: The BMC’s claim of having finished around 55% of drain works before this monsoon were questioned at a meeting of chairmen of 16 civic ward councils on Monday. Most of the representatives said not more than 30% of the works was completed in their wards, which would lead to widespread flooding across the city.
The 16 council heads, representing all the 227 civic wards, had come to the municipal head office to discuss the state of premonsoon works.
Last week, in a joint meeting with the MMRDA and the railways, officials from the BMC’s storm water drains department claimed that more than half of
the work of widening and deepening of drains was over and the rest would be completed by the end of this month.
BJP corporator from Grant Road Arvind Bane said the involvement of multiple agencies in pre-monsoon projects leads to the delay. “For months, the BMC officials in my ward have been claiming that work is under way. But we don’t see the result on the ground. The railways have not even started their bit of cleaning the drains in my ward.
This, despite the BMC ensuring that the money has been paid to them in advance,” he said.
Others pointed out the delay in removing illegal structures along the drains.
After listening to the grievances of the council heads, BMC standing committee chairman Ravindra Waikar has decided to visit the spots along with civic officials.
MITHI PLAN The BMC standing committee on Monday cleared a revised proposal for the second phase of works on the Mithi on the 11.8km stretch that belongs to the civic body. Civic officials said the collector’s office has conveyed that it would take some more time in clearing the river bank of encroachments. The officials have proposed to deepen the river further. The work would increase the cost of the project considerably, officials said. TNN |