BJP MLA Ganesh Naik holds Jan Samvaad to deal with 800 grievances

The meeting held on Tuesday is after a gap of 9 years and was done primarily to appraise the civic officials with the civic issues faced by residents at the ground level, said officials

Navi Mumbai: Public gathering convened by Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Ganesh Naik conducted on Tuesday turned out to be the apt medium for former corporators and social activists to voice their concerns and issues of the city and the manner it is dealt with by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC).

BJP MLA Ganesh Naik holds Jan Samvaad to deal with 800 grievances

The gathering was conducted at the Vashi based Vishnudas Bhave auditorium wherein over 800 odd grievances were raised. Senior officials from various departments of NMMC as well as Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MDECL) were present during the gathering. The gathering of this nature was held after a gap of 9 years.

“Earlier the MLA used to conduct weekly meetings popularly known as Janta Darbar when he held the post of Guardian minister. The meeting held on Tuesday is after a gap of 9 years and was done primarily to appraise the civic officials with the civic issues faced by residents at the ground level. “Since the house was dissolved in May 2020 the administrative powers are completely vested upon the municipal commissioner. This has led to a disconnect between the civic authorities and the residents on the issues they are actually facing because earlier the standing committee and the general body used to voice these issues. The idea of conducting the Jan Sanvaad was to address this gap and give the residents present at the meeting timely resolutions,” said a spokesperson from the MLA’s office.

Some of the matters raised were about repeated uninformed power failures and exorbitant electricity bills, the repeated disruption in water supply as well as the poor quality of water received within various housing societies. Residents also raised issues about the unkempt state of public gardens as well as internal roads. “Earlier water used to be supplied to residents at a fixed rate but after a few years, the NMMC made it mandatory upon societies to install meters. Most of the meters installed in my ward have developed defects and the burden of getting these replaced NMMC has put upon the consumers. Since these meters are wireless the replacements are expensive. Residents are demanding that the replacement should be done by NMMC and this issue was raised during the meeting, “said the former corporator of Belapur, Dr Jayaji Nath.

The civic officials were asked to look into the excessive delays in completing crucial city projects like the Science Park in Nerul, Repair work of Ambedkar Bhavan in Airoli etc. Questions were raised on the reason for not operating any of the rides at Wonder Park since it was inaugurated In May 2023.