Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the collector’s office are at loggerheads over releasing BMC staff deployed on election duty.
Officials from the BMC’s stormwater drains department is saying that officers who monitor the desilting of nullas on the ground are on zonal duty, which is delaying work.
Meanwhile, the collector’s office said the staff required for emergency services has already been released. However, amid all this, desiling of nullas is behind schedule, indicating that Mumbai is likely to flood this monsoon too.
As per a senior civic officer, “Only 35 to 40 per cent desilting is complete. Although contractors have been appointed and work started on time, sub-engineers who supervise work on the ground are still on election duty.”
However, Mumbai collector Sachin Kurve said, “Immediately after the voting day, we started releasing the staff required for emergency services, which include BMC employees.”
Opposition leader in the BMC House Ravi Raja from Congress said, “It seems not even 10 per cent of nullah cleaning has been done due to the staff crunch and for that the municipal commissioner has written to the EC.”
Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar said BJP supports mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar's stand that MCC should be relaxed and requ-ired staff should be released.
