Vasai-Virar opposition leader accuses civic body of wasting crores on drain cleaning, seeks October tenders
Leader of the Opposition Manoj Patil has demanded that the Vasai-Virar civic body float open e-tenders for drain cleaning in October and warned of agitation and legal action if it does not.
Images are not validated/verified
The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation spends crores of rupees on drain cleaning every year, yet the city floods badly. Leader of the Opposition in the corporation Manoj Patil has taken the civic administration to task over this.
Patil has demanded that the financial waste in drain-cleaning work be stopped immediately. He has urged the municipal commissioner to run a transparent and timely e-tendering process in October itself for the coming monsoon.
According to Patil, in corporations such as Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune, the survey and tendering for the next year's drain cleaning begin in October. This creates healthy competition among contractors, he says. Contractors also get enough time to remove silt and carry it away, and the quality of work is therefore maintained.
In Vasai-Virar, however, the situation is the opposite, Patil says. Tenders are issued in a last-minute rush every year in March or April. Often, citing lack of time, extensions are given to favoured contractors. He alleges that such unplanned functioning means the cleaning is shown only on paper.
The city bore the brunt of this year. It faced waterlogging, causing citizens great hardship and financial loss, Patil said.
Patil has also made several suggestions to bring transparency to the work. The practice of extending old contractors' terms should end. The length, width, silt quantity and sanctioned funds for every drain should be made public. Geo-tagged photographs and videography should be mandatory. An online record should be kept of where the silt is dumped. The work should also be inspected by an independent technical department, he has suggested.
To end this opacity in drain cleaning, Patil has demanded that, as in other corporations, a ward-wise open e-tendering process be started in Vasai-Virar in October itself.
Patil has warned the administration that if it does not take note of these demands and announce a schedule, he will launch a strong agitation through lawful means and also mount a legal fight.
