What went wrong? BMC panel to find out : Hindustan Times

BMC chief Ajoy Mehta forms 5-member committee to survey desilting work, verify pre-monsoon claims

MUMBAI: After the hue and cry over the flooding in the city over the weekend, the civic body finally plans to look into what went wrong in its monsoon preparedness.

People help each other cross a flooded road at Sion.

Civic chief Ajoy Mehta has now appointed a five-member committee to look into the desilting of nullahs carried out before the monsoon and has demanded a report on the probe by June 30. The move came in the wake of the demand by the corporators from the Opposition parties on Monday.

The committee will be headed by Prakash Patil, deputy municipal commissioner (solid waste management), along with four other civic officials and will audit the claims of the contractor on the amount of silt removed and transported. Mehta assured the members of the general body that an FIR would be registered against contractors who are found guilty.

“We will conduct a detailed inquiry into the desilting of nullahs. If lapses are proved, then necessary action such as blacklisting, stopping of payment or registration of an FIR will be taken against the contractors,” he said.

An inquiry into the Friday’s monsoon mess, too, has been initiated, and deputy municipal commissioners of all seven zones, along with assistant commissioners of 24 wards, have been asked to report to the civic chief in case of any problem. The civic chief has asked the officials to start field work and get to the core of the problems and resolve them within a stipulated period to avoid a flood-like situation in the city.

The f i eld work i ncludes checking the condition of dewatering pumps, minor work on drains, sanitation and drainage systems, along with visits to slums.

Mehta assured corporators of a long-term plan to tackle waterlogging and the completion of Guzderbandh and Britannia pumping stations on a priority basis.

 

 

“Our priority will be to complete work on the pumping stations before the next monsoon and avoid a repeat of what happened over the weekend. I have ordered the ward officers to focus on all issues related to the monsoon -- from checking the drainage system to carrying out drives against dengue and malaria,” said Mehta.