Pune monsoon: Citizens demand public audit of storm-water drain works

Mukta Tilak, Pune mayor, had called for a review of the storm water drains in 2017 after several complaints of shoddy work were lodged against PMC officials by residents.

Citizen forums from eastern Pune, including the Pune metropolitan region development authority (PMRDA) area, have been vociferously demanding a ‘citizen audit’ of the storm water drain work being done by the Pune municipal corporation (PMC), Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation (PCMC) and PMRDA.

According to residents, currently, Wagholi has become a centre of potholes as all roads have been washed away by the rain.(HT PHOTO)

Prominent citizens forums, such as the Wagholi housing societies association, have complained to the chief minister’s office (CMO) stating that the corrupt system, involving corporators, their close aides as contractors, and bureaucracy, was behind the prevailing urban chaos in the Pune metropolitan region.

Mukta Tilak, Pune mayor, had called for a review of the storm water drains in 2017 after several complaints of shoddy work were lodged against PMC officials by residents. This year, Tilak has instructed the department officials concerned to ensure that waterlogging was minimum during monsoon. However, the situation on the ground has left residents seething about the prevailing infrastructure and the inefficiency of PMC.

The citizen forums have demanded an investigation into the storm water works which were carried out in the past, including the ongoing work, and demanded that a policy paper be framed on the subject at the earliest. The forums have also demanded for greater citizen participation in all civic works being undertaken, stating that it is not the sole responsibility of the elected representatives, but of the collective citizenry, to keep a tab on them. 

“We need to show the citizens that the nexus has become so strong during the past three decades that everyone is being taken for a ride. We want a public audit to be done where the citizens, including subject experts, will publicly question PMC’s storm water drain department on all fronts regarding their work ,” said Saleem Mulla, director, Kondhwa citizens initiative. 

Sanjeev Kumar Patil, director of the Wagholi housing societies association, said, “The so-called development work in Wagholi is a farce. Currently, Wagholi has become a centre of potholes - both large and small - as all the roads have been washed away and submerged underwater due to incessant rain.”