| Mumbai, Tuesday, 23 April 2013

Demand for a special meeting of the Standing Committee

Sakaal News Service

Mumbai, 22nd : The corporators are in a tizzy as the High Court has stayed the work of Shiv Sena's dome project—the Coastal Road project—from Princess Street to Bandra. Yashwant Jadhav, Chairman of the Standing Committee instructed the municipal administration on Monday (22nd) that a special meeting should be called to inform them about the matter.

The length of the coastal road is 9.98 km and the municipality is going to spend Rs. 1600 crores on it. During the presentation of the project, Commissioner Ajoy Mehta informed that the municipality received the "No Objection Certificate" for the Coastal Control Area from the Union Department of Environment, Bane and Habitat in 2017. Considering this, Asif Zakaria of the Congress raised the issue of objection in the standing committee as to why the Koli community is opposing the sea route and the court is delaying this order. Damodar Tandel, the Chairman of Fishermen's Action Committee has warned that if the coastal road is built keeping the fishermen in the dark, they will continue to oppose it. To add to this, the residents of Breach Candy are also opposing it. Considering the threat to Tata Gardens due to the coastal road, the Society for Improvement, Greenery and Nature (SIGN) approached the High Court. There is a risk of inundation of Bhulabhai Desai Road after Tata Garden due to dumping in the sea. Keeping this in mind, the High Court prohibited the dumping in the sea. Five petitions have been filed against the Coastal Road in the High Court.

Road construction and repairs halted due to election code of conduct

Mumbai, Road construction and repairs have been halted badly because of the 22nd Lok Sabha elections. INR 2000 crore worth of proposals had been approved for road work; but the work has not started yet. Even though the monsoon is approaching, there is no ongoing work. Today, in the standing committee, the councilors asked when the work will start. However, the administration delayed responding by saying that information will be given in the next meeting.

Three to four months before the implementation of the code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections, INR 2000 crore had been approved for road work. Since there is a month and a half before the onset of monsoon, road work is not allowed after May 15th. Hence despite the 2000-crore proposal, pothole-free roads are still a long way to go for residents of the city. Abhijit Samant, member of the Standing Committee, raised an objection in this regard. It was supported by all party members.

Directive to submit written information: Three months ago road work proposals were approved, so the question of code of conduct does not arise. The administration should, in the next meeting, provide detailed information in written form, instructed Yashwant Jadhav, the Chairman of the Standing Committee.