State to take over sewage, water from BMC
However, lower cadre of officials say it might help curtail the red tape in
the two depts
Smita Deshmukh
The state government’s decision to modernise two crucial departments of
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – water supply and sewage – into
two professionally-run bodies, on the lines of the BEST Undertaking, has
received stiff opposition from the top civic officials. However, lower cadre
of its officials feel that an independent Board structure, like Delhi Jal
Board, could help the functioning of both departments and keep them away
from the red tape.
At present, the draft amendments needed in the BMC Act for such a transition
are being worked out. Once finalised, the proposal would come to the Urban
Development ministry for scrutiny after which an approval would be sought
from the BMC before a final clearance from the state cabinet. Incidentally,
state officials have proposed that even in their new structure, both the
organisations would function under the BMC umbrella.
With an employee strength of over 20,000 plus, both departments are sitting
on mega projects with Central and State help. While the civic chief Johny
Joseph refused to get into the issue saying, “I can’t comment on the
proposal unless I see the fine print,” others questioned the state’s move at
a time when the World Bank monitoring team did not find any fault in them.
“How can BEST be a model when the electricity division is cross-subsiding
the transport section?” questioned a senior civic official.
“And if BEST is professionally-run, why aren’t the transport charges hiked?” he asked.
Confirming that the organisational structure of BEST Undertaking has been
considered, secretary, special projects, Sanjay Ubale said, “It was felt
that these two departments needed professional orientation towards service
as well as delivery. The amendments in the Act have been suitably proposed
to accommodate the new structure.”
However, many lower ranking officials say an independent Board, without
politicians, can work. “The idea was to regulate tax structure, take quick
decisions and work towards self-sustainable working pattern as envisaged by
the World Bank, which has funded projects in sewage,” said an official.
But as many lower officials in both departments also agree with the state’s
call for tariff accountability. “There is a constant pressure from politicians. We supply water in slums and no one pays for the same. Same is the case of toilets, which are not maintained. All new plans take long time to execute – municipal audit, Standing Committee, which often leads to hike in cost of the project,” added an official from water supply department.