Tired of inaction, Mumbai Congress to approach CM

With the civic body and other state agencies failing to bring about any real improvement in the condition of the city’s roads, the Mumbai Congress has decided to approach the chief minister.

The party said on Thursday that it will take up the issue of the pothole-filled roads with CM Prithviraj Chavan, and request him direct the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to take prompt action

“We have appealed to the civic body to fill the potholes, but the BMC has not done enough yet. We are sending a letter to the CM on Friday, so he can take cognisance of the poor state of the roads,” said Mumbai Congress president Kripashankar Singh.

The BMC, ruled by the Shiv Sena and the BJP, is answerable to the urban development department, headed by Chavan.

Singh said the Congress legislators in the city have also decided to take up the issue of the potholes and the corruption in the civic body, in a proposed meeting with Chavan about the problems Mumbai is facing. “The issue will also be raised in the legislature. We want the government to find out why the roads are in a bad shape, even thought the BMC has spent taxpayers’ money,” he added.

Joining the chorus is the Nationalist Congress Party. NCP legislator Nawab Malik said that his party legislators would raise the issue in the ongoing session of the state legislature. “The city has a Rs20,000 crore budget and a substantial part of it spent on the roads, but there are no quality checks on the road construction. The money is going to waste,” he said.