Bifurcate, Privatize and Curtail Power of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

Is the Municipal Corporations in the country functioning upto the satisfaction of the people of their respective area? Your answer might be a firm ‘No’. Most of the Municipal especially the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation failed to reform and raise the expectation of the people due to unending corruption, nepotism and regionalism. In our country, Municipal Corporations are running away from its responsibility and they extort money by way of excessive higher taxes and barbaric laws and regulation which takes basic fundamental right of the citizen. Even after collecting excessive amount on property taxes, water charges, octroi, licences, tolls, and many other things, they are again and again try to create new legislationy from the citizen while doing meager work on the ground.

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If you look at the condition of road – pot hole, uneven patches, frequent digging by utility services, encroachment over footpath, narrowed roads and bridges, contaminated water due to leaky pipes, no new underground drainage system as the existing underground drainage and sewage system made by British era.

Overall Municipal officials, political parties only interested to extract money rather than improving better and affordable services to its citizen. If anybody try to repair their small hut or shop, the cost of construction and repair is much less than the bribe given to Municipal Corporation. It is very difficult for a poor and middle class man to repair and reconstruct their hut due to the harassment from municipal officials, police, corporations, political parties, the so called ‘social workers’ who black mail and extract money from the poor citizen. Corporation deny permission in such a situation and they try to find fault on us on anything and everything. Dealing with multiple authorities is a bigger problem.

Municipal Corporation in the country faces less threat from politician, anti corruption bureau, media, judiciary and above all public scrutiny. The end result, some of the Corporators, Municipal official becomes millionaire and billionaires than the MLAs and MPs and it is the safe heaven for local politician and govt. officials in Municipal corporation to earn unaccounted risk free income. Some Municipal Corporations and Corporation employee have more clout and power than state and central govt. employees with lack of accountability in their functioning. Major Municipal Corporations minting unaccounted money more than IPL, Telecom, Petroleum scam, in the country.

You can see you the official excess taking place. Recently some official conducted a raid in a self employed worker’s small grocery shop and fined Rs.5000/- for keeping a plastic bag. The poor man compelled to give Rs.5000/- for keeping ‘one’ small plastic bag. He lost more than 1 months earning. While many big and neighbouring bigger shop doing great business with the support of the authorities. Now a plastic bag is worth more than a contraband. This kind of officials are going on in the name of cleanliness drive and ban on plastic bags in Mumbai and may be rest of Municipal Corporation area. Instead if they might have fined Rs.10/- and give a warning not to repeat such mistake, there might be a chance to reform the man and make compliance with enthusiasm. Whether it is helmet ban, drink driving, plastic ban, ban on beer bars, anything and everything is done to extract the money rather than making awareness and compliance of the law. Such kind of action create revenge among people against the state and officials, and they are easy pray for anti state and anti democratic forces. The growing sympathy for anti state forces is one such reason where state is excessively hammering its citizen in the name of implementation of law without first doing the ground work and creating basic infrastructure.

Considering all the above, I have the following suggestion which need to be implemented urgently:-

o In all Municipal Corporation’s functioning, both state and central govt. have a great say in its function as we witnessed the autonomous status of Mumbai Municipal Corporation made super corrupt and lack of accountability.

o Big Municipal Corporations like Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to bifurcate and curtail its powers and necessary amendment in law should be made urgently.

o Project funding and finance and all major repair, reconstruction work, tendering and purchase of major items done through state and central govt. and Central govt. have a great say on this issue especially bigger projects.

o The State Anti-corruption is totally ineffective in its functioning and filled with corrupt and undeserving people, it never function in favour of peoples expectation. Hence, Central Vigilance Commission/ CBI and such other bodies from centre have a power to monitor and raid the project and these officials.

o Computerisation of all dept. and creation of separate expert body like MMRDA should be formed for Project Liaisoning and Co-ordination with various dept. including Railways, World Bank Officials and other financial institutions as its main function should be to deal with state and centre and ensure co-ordination and liaisoning with various state and central govt. dept. obtain fast clearance and approval from the concerned authorities. This dept. should ensure timely completion of project, cost audit, feasibility study, timely project and programme implementation, etc. comes under the purview of this ‘expert body’. Municipal authorities do not bypass the decision of this quasi judicial body and it has full power to implement its decision by taking into confidence of state and central govt. If this body found any resistance and corruption, they can refer and take help of CAG, CVC, CBI and other judicial bodies to ensure that the project is implemented timely within the parameter of proper rehabilitations of PAP people.

o Another big reason why Municipal Corporation’s power needs to curtail and bifurcate and fix accountability is to reduce the regional party’s clout on Municipal Corporation’s function and reduce the corruption. By doing so, more accountability can bring, regionalism, and rise of regional powers and regional parties can be curtailed, ensure pan India appeal and more cosmopolitan approach which will ensure more investment and better infrastructure. Major National Political parties have a major beneficiary in this decision.

o Effective and better auditing system on revenue and expenditure side and ensure timely attendance of the staff and availability of staff on seat by introducing punching, bio-metric cards. This will do away ‘ghost workers’ on pay roll in Municipal services thus saving millions of rupees every year.

o Major suitable amendment of old British colonial Municipal law which is suited to todays environment without taking away and suppressing right and freedom and liberty of the people at large.

o Inviting global tender on collection, segregation, transportation and generating electricity and other by products from wastes and earn profits. The fact is that many private companies interested in India to give free service and generate revenue on wastes and garbages by producing bio-gas, electricity and other bye products while the BMC don’t need to hammer its citizen in the name of cleanliness drive, ban plastic bags etc. and put more inconvenience and trouble to public. Some officials are acting in vengeance and hidden agenda to benefit regional powers and benefit some officials.

o Privatization of all of the Municipal Services (don’t create private monopoly in essential services as it is happened to BSES and suffer consumers in Mumbai) other committed corporations, group of individuals, NGOs etc. to ensure transparent and effective services and do away the Licence-Permit-Inspector Raj and ensure more employment and every time hiking rates and taxes to provide salary and wages of non-performing Corporation Employees. Govt. need not to cry deficit of budget, salary and other things and people also happy with this decision by making Municipal Corporation most efficient, unbiased, dedicated in the delivery of services.

Central and State Govt. will make appropriate amendment in Municipal Laws in the days to come in the larger interest of public and the autonomy is the Municipal Corporation is a Big Question Mark Now. Why autonomy – making non-performing, non-accountable and creating super corrupt body. When a village becomes panchayat the corruption marginally increase and panchayat becomes Municipal body, it becomes more corrupt. The Vasai Virar peoples not to vote in Municipal election and not to allow in creation of Municipal Corporation is the best decision in protecting local and peoples interest. The Panchayati Raj is also a bigger problem for tomorrow