Eyeing the BMC polls, proposals were passed at lightening speed
Ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Shiv Sena-BJP led Standing Committee cleared proposals worth Rs 400 crore in just 15 minutes on Wednesday. The proposals were related to maintenance of jet suction machine used for sewerage cleaning, road repairs and improvement of the water pipeline network in the city.
The proposals include road repairs in Kurla worth Rs 24 crore. (Representational picture)
Known for spending hours on discussing a single proposal, the corporators did not show any interest in checking whether these proposals are necessary or not. The statutory body, the Standing Committee, deals with all development projects proposed for betterment of the city.
Luring peopleA senior civic official said, "It seems the corporators are focusing on the elections and trying to lure people with new project announcements. Before the code of conduct comes into effect, the ruling alliance wants to pass as many proposals as they can. Also, several ribbon-cutting ceremonies by political leaders have been lined up in the days to come."
Yesterday, about 50 proposals including some pending proposals of last week's meeting were passed in a jiffy.
According to the data, the proposal for improvement of water supply network in south Mumbai worth Rs 31 crore, maintenance of suction and jetting machine used for sewerage cleaning worth R24 crore, road repairs in Kurla worth Rs 24 crore, equipment for Octroi and Property Tax Department of Rs 8 crore, are some of the few big projects that were cleared in the meeting.
While yesterday the committee showed lightening speed to clear the proposals, last week they debated for two hours on two subjects, and did not pass several proposals.
Neta saysSamajwadi Party group leader, Rais Shaikh, said, "We are tired of Sena-BJP's game of political benefit. During the assembly, as well as parliament elections, the Standing Committee behaved similarly to lure the voters. Clearing maximum development projects before elections is a political move to get the edge in civic elections."
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