12 May,2017 09:20 AM IST | Mumbai | Dharmendra Jore
BJP has disapproved of the shoddy work which Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had earlier appreciated; CM Devendra Fadnavis asks BMC chief Ajoy Mehta to upload every detail of desilting work on social media for citizens
BJP Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar isn't happy with execution of the work to prepare for monsoon. File Pic
Reiterating the role of custodians of transparency, the BJP has asked the BMC administration to pull up its socks, and stop toeing the line of ruling party Shiv Sena in pre-monsoon preparedness, particularly desilting of water bodies and nullahs, and repairing of roads.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the administration to maintain transparency and keep citizens informed about the work and avoid scams. The diktat is seen as a royal snub to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, who inspected pre-monsoon preparedness two days ago and appreciated the work carried out so far, because it came after the city BJP unit president disapproved of the work and demanded better action from the Sena-controlled BMC on Wednesday.
The CM's order came at a meeting with Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar and his team at Mantralaya on Thursday. Shelar apprised the CM of many lacunae in the system in front of civic chief Ajoy Mehta, who had accompanied Thackeray on inspection. Shelar wasn't happy with execution of the work saying he and his team did not agree with Thackeray's certificate of good work.
What the CM wants
According to Shelar, the CM has asked Mehta to upload every detail of desilting work on social media for citizens' perusal. He has also asked for auditing of the work by agencies like IIT-Bombay, National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), and Indian Army's engineering corps.
Also read: Blow to BMC plan as contractors refuse to clean up minor nullahs
"There have been scams and irregularities in desilting works. We want this work to be transparent this year because many a time duplicate receipts (of silt removed and transported) of work are prepared for claiming payments. We asked the CM to correct this. So, henceforth the BMC will display daily statistics of the work, and also give public numbers of engineers in-charge of it, and all information related to contractors on the job," he said.
Homes for slum dwellers
In the same meeting, Fadnavis approved a proposal to rehabilitate slum dwellers in Aarey Colony on a 28-acre open plot in the vicinity. He also cleared a suggestion for rehabilitating hutment owners staying on railway land in Jogeshwari-Goregaon at a project-affected people's government colony in Mahul.
