‘Recommend top two projects for your area’

Civic chief Subodh Kumar is now trying to make peace with corporators, who are furious with him for suspending their development funds.

Civic chief Subodh Kumar is now trying to make peace with corporators, who are furious with him for suspending their development funds.

HT Image

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner wants to know every corporator’s top two priority projects and complaints so that he can try to work it out for them. To facilitate this, in his latest circular, Kumar has asked all 24 civic wards to reach out to their corporators.

“The commissioner’s directive is aimed at understanding the problems of corporators and trying to sort them out,” a senior civic official said, requesting anonymity.

In the civic budget presented in February, Kumar decided to stop giving each of them Rs1 crore annually as development fund. The decision had upset corporators.

Confirming the directive, a ward officer said, “We have been told to find out two priority projects or grievances of corporators. We need to make a list of these projects, along with our own study of their urgency and submit it to the commissioner.”

Corporators cautiously welcomed Kumar’s move. Ashish Shelar, BJP group leader in the BMC and Khar corporator, said, “Though it’s a welcome step, the fact that our recommendations are restricted to two is injustice to us and to the ward’s constituents.”

Standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale said, “It is a welcome step. There are many pending issues that need the civic chief’s intervention as they need co-ordination at the level of the state and Centre.” Despite repeated attempts, Kumar did not respond to our queries.