48 hours on, rejected road proposals approved by BMC

Mumbai: Road repair proposals, which were rejected barely two days ago, were finally cleared by the standing committee in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday. The Rs 90-crore proposals also contain pothole-filling works to be carried out during next monsoon.

The BMC administration had tabled these proposals for approval at the last moment before the civic standing committee, which was held on Tuesday. They included pothole filling works and trenches and joints repairs works. However, these proposals had been turned down by the corporators, saying that newly built roads and roads under Defect Liability Period (DLP) are also included in them.

To clear these proposals, BMC chief Ajoy Mehta summoned another standing committee meeting on Thursday using his special powers under Section 49 (c) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888. As per this section, the standing committee chairman shall, on written requisition by the commissioner, call a special meeting of the committee within 24 hours to transact any business which in the commissioner’s opinion can’t be delayed until the next ordinary meeting. “These are works of urgent nature on road stretches where potholes crop up time and again. Some stretches are uneven and therefore works have to be taken up. If the proposal is tabled any later, we would not be able to complete works before the monsoon,” he said.

Raising apprehensions over his claims, BJP corporator Dilip Patel said that there were some roads in the proposal, which were under the DLP. “It means that the BMC will be repairing roads, which were repaired barely some months ago,” said Patel. However, Mr Mehta assured that roads which are under the DLP would not be taken up. “In case they have been mentioned the same would be immediately cancelled,” he said.

Proposals of purchasing medical gas and operation theatres were also cleared in the standing committee meeting. “Nine modular operation theatres and medical gas needed to be purchased for civic and periphery hospitals. Delay in passing these proposals would have affected the health services the BMC provides to citizens,” said additional municipal commissioner Idzes Kundan. Ten proposals costing over Rs 300 crore were passed within 60 minutes in the meeting.