Editorial

Action for good G overnance &N etworking inIndia

June 2019 > A MonthlyNewsletter > For private circulation only

Forward This To All - And All Forward - Together

Thank you Commissioner Pardeshi!

umbaikars are very Mhappy to know your first response after taking over as Municipal Commissioner of the BMC that solid waste management is your top priority. Your vision for a relief in property tax for those housing societies who have zero garbage is welcome, which no commissioner had the guts to implement in the city despite requests from Mumbaikars. Yes, your successful experience in this sphere in Pune has given you the courage to implement this in Mumbai too.

Your desire that citizens should participate in solving civic issues is immensely appreciated. In fact, over a d e c a d e a g o , t h e B M C introduced Advanced Locality Management (ALMs) for this very purpose. This ALM concept was, in reality, citizens' participative civic governance. This was going on very well all over the city with more than 700 registered ALMs. In fact, the BMC had also brought out an ALM man u a l in wh ich AGNI contributed immeasurably. Unfortunately, the ALMs were d i s c o n t i n u e d b y t h e subsequent Commissioner.

With your principle of involving Mumbaikars in resolving civic issues we request you to revive the ALM concept and reintroduce ALMs in the city which are even stronger than the previous ones. Also, make it a statute of the BMC so that no future Commissioner can remove these useful and productive bodies.

We in AGNI wish you the very best in your vision for participative civic governance.

MMJ

Stormy meeting with MMRDA about Metro line 6

n May 21 the residents of OPowai and Lokhandwala met with officials of MMRDA and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to discuss the Metro Line 6 which will begin in Swami Samarth Nagar in Lokhandwala, pass through Jogeshwari and Powai onwards to Vikhroli. MMRDA stated that this was a preliminary consultation about project Metro 6. There were a little more than 100 residents from the two suburbs at the meeting. Seated on the dais were two officials from MMRDA, Ms Poonam Khopade, Officer on Special Duty, Environment, Mr Vishram Patil, Chief, Special Development Cell and three officials of DMRC. The meeting which began quietly and on a cordial note soon turned stormy

a s r e s i d e n t s f r o m Lokhandwala, Powai and Kanjurmarg took to the floor of the house demanding a n s w e r s t o e x t r e m e l y relevant questions. The meeting began with a presentation about the Metro 6 line by one of the officials of DMRC which was cut short by residents as they demanded in strident tones that their questions be answered first before the presentation continued. Pamela Cheema, representing NGOs AGNI and NAGAR in S ward asked “why is this preliminary meeting being conducted now when the project has started in both Lokhandwala and Powai and roads and barricades have been put up? Is it because you

want to clear your yard arm and fulfil procedural formalities which state that you must have c o n s u l t a t i o n s w i t h t h e stakeholders before you move forward?” The MMRDA official, Mr Vishram Patil replied that “the meeting was being held to take suggestions which would be noted and considered at an appropriate level.” Mr Ashok Datar, noted transport expert, stated that “ I had submitted a plan for the Bus Rapid Transport System in 2008 which would have been infinitely cheaper than the Metro line 6. Why wasn't this plan considered?” Snehal Basrur, Contd.on Pg 4

Mumbaikars keen to have a clean city, onus on us now, says Praveen Pardeshi

Prajakta Kasale

New civic chief assures that he will solve all issues with people's participation

raveen Pardeshi, Mumbai's Pn e w M u n i c i p a l Commissioner stated that the city has some unique traits. "The people of Mumbai have an attachment to their city. They take ownership to keep it clean and at par with global cities. Now it is up to us to use people's participation," he said. The new chief of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) articulated his views on issues like the coastal road, BEST, Metro, monsoon preparedness, water, scams, health and periodic fires in the city among other issues.

Coastal road project The coastal road work started after taking all the environment- related permissions from central government agencies and suggestions/objections from all.

We will take measures as per the report of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) to take care of the livelihood of the Koli community. Countries like the Netherlands have more than 30 percent of reclaimed land. The coastal road is hardly 0.1 percent.

Environmental concerns We need to solve them by communication. There are c o n f l i c t s b e t w e e n e nv i ro n m e n t a l i s t s a n d developers and we will resolve it with people's participation.

Water cuts BMC had planned for such a situation and as per that the 10 per cent water cut will r e m a i n . H o w e v e r ,

Maharashtra state is facing drought-like conditions and Mumbaikars should use water more judicially.

Water stock The city uses water from dams located in other districts. The c u r r e n t s t o c k w i l l b e insufficient for the future. We release two thirds of the water in the Contd.on Page 4

2 Mumbai Meri Jaan June 2019

New civic chief Praveen Pardeshi offers a 'solid' proposal

Composting at Paan Bazar Near Sion

Garden Waste Shredding Machine

Swachha Mumbai Abhiyaan

Virat A Singh

MMJ

Rajkumar Sharma

A few days ago I was speaking to Mr Rishi

Aggarwal, an environmentalist of repute and a good friend. We were discussing the issue of waste management in Mumbai

and in other c i t ies . He explained one of his innovative ideas called the “Garbage Bank.” He told me about the composting being done by the L o k m a n y a P a a n B a z a r Association Ltd at Evarad Nagar near Sion. The association composts a l l the waste

g e n e r a t e d b y t h e m . I immediately decided to see the composting for myself. The next day I went to see the plant, but since it was a Sunday, there were no staff members at the s ite. The watchman showed me the composting unit and told me that I should come on any working day between 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm, if I wished to see the functioning of the plant. A few days later I went there again. I met the Chairman of the Lokmanya Paan Bazar Association Ltd. He informed me that since the BMC had emphasized that they had to compost their waste he had taken the initiative to establish the composting plant in May 2018. The unit has two 1000 litre

drums which r o t a t e automatically f o r f i v e minutes after e v e r y t w o hours. They have a heavy duty shredder which can shred everything including coconut shells, leaves, waste paan leaves, straw that is used for packing, the baskets in which the paan leaves are brought, banana leaves, small, thin branches etc. There are 100 families living in the complex. All the waste is segregated at source and the wet waste is brought for composting. Since the quantity of waste generated varies from season to season, the average waste c o m p o s t e d p e r d a y i s approximately 200 Kg. They have two women from Stree Mukti Sanghatna and four men who work tirelessly round the clock. They do not add any additives for quick composting and thus it takes about two to two and a half months to compost. Since they have 1000 litre drums, the bio-degradable waste is placed daily in one drum.

Once it is full, waste is placed in the second drum. Once the second drum is full, the waste in the first drum is composted which is then dried, sieved and packed. The compost thus produced is of excellent quality and used in their farms. But there remain the twin problems of transportation and cost of the product—the cost of

transportation is inordinately high while the price of the product is so low that it does not cover production and handling costs. At present the compost is used as fertilizer for the trees in their complex or is offered to people returning to their villages or farms. This is a very good initiative that takes care of wet waste and reduces the burden on the city's dumping grounds. But, as usual, there is no support from the BMC. It is very convenient for the BMC to thrust the burden of waste

management on citizens, but without proper planning and end-to-end solutions this concept may boomerang on them. It is very important for all stake holders to understand t h a t p r o p e r w a s t e management is a serious problem that is getting worse by the day. Authorities need to u n d e r s t a n d t h a t w a s t e management is a service to be provided and is not just a money spinner. Citizens also need to stop talking only about their rights and have to start doing their duties too.

Societies recycling waste will now get discounts in property tax

olid waste management Sin Mumbai is among the top priorities of senior bureaucrat Praveen Pardeshi who has taken charge as the BMC chief. Spelling out his vision for the metropo l i s , wh ich generates over 7,000 tons of solid waste daily, the civic commissioner said housing societies segregating wet waste will get relief in property tax. Handling solid waste has been one of the biggest challenges for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. While it has made it compulsory for societies to recycle their waste, the diktat has not produced the desired results. Pardeshi, a 1985-batch IAS officer who has also served as the Pune civic commissioner, said he was confident that the property tax incentive will help the BMC achieve its goal. "We did it in Pune. The whole Magarpatta area of Pune is a fine example of waste management . I f societies are recycling their waste, it ultimately eases the burden of the BMC. Hence,

societies deserve to get exemptions in property tax in return," he said. However, property tax is the main source of income for the BMC. Also, its collection is likely to be hit following the state's recent announcement that houses with an area of up to

500 sq ft will be exempt from this levy. Asked if an exemption to societies will further affect this crucial revenue source, Pardeshi cited the example of New York. He said the US city receives more income from traffic charges than property tax. "Mumbai too can follow in its footsteps." The new BMC chief said he is also hopeful of implementing the long-pending parking p o l i c y w i t h h e l p f r o m Mumbaikars. MMJ

Chairman, Paan Bazar Ltd.

Mumbai Meri Jaan June 2019 3

Not just cops, Mumbai civic body to fine you for illegal parking?

Procedure that the traffic police follows when they seize an abandoned car

After demolition

Dumping waste in drains? BMC may disconnect your water supply

Anil Kumar Jain

MMJ

The Runners up

MMJ

MMJ

for donations received in May 2019 from:-

Gerson daCunha Rs.50,000/=Dr Ahmad Mecklai, Founder and CEO,

AAA Healthcare Consultancy Rs. 5000/=Mohammed Khan Rs.1000/=

Sagar Pillai

Eeshanpriya MS

Parking your car on the road? Beware. Soon, you

may not only have to pay a fine to the traffic police, but also to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) parking a u t h o r i t y. A c co rd i n g to sources, the parking authority is presently mulling expanding its role to penalising vehicle owners for illegal parking. The authority is working with urban planners to survey on-street parking spaces in the city, after it has completed its survey for off-street parking

spaces. Once that is done, it will map parking zones in the city and no-parking zones. Ramnath Jha, a former IAS o f f i c e r w h o h a s b e e n a p p o i n t e d b y t h e Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to head the park ing author i ty, sa id , “Obviously action will be taken if cars are parked in no-parking zones, otherwise what is the

point of having a parking authority? There will be commonalities in the jobs done by the traffic police and the parking authority.” Jha said the

parking authority will regulate parking, but the traffic police's job will continue to be done by them, as is being done presently according to the law. This may take place under the aegis of the parking authority. Jha added, “We cannot duplicate work. What is their (traffic police) function is specified under the police act, so we will have to take those things into consideration. We will legally review this and there will be writing of statutes that will determine the authority's exact

role. The nuances are yet to be worked out.” This news has been welcomed by experts. Vivek Pai, from the Mumbai Mobility Forum said, “ We a r e a l l u p fo r t h i s arrangement, as the city is in dire need of regulated parking. If the parking authority is to take up the role of fining offenders for illegal parking, it will be great to work out the revenue model and parking rates. This will give the authority more regulatory power.”

Authority mulls role in slapping fines on vehicle owners

Three Fork Lift vehicles abondoned for years at Jain Derasar Lane, Near Government Quarters Wadala. There would be

many vehicles like these across Mumbai

fter police officers spot Aan abandoned vehicle, they contact the Regional Transport Department to get the address of the owner of the vehicle. The officers then send a notice to the owner of the vehicle to claim and take it. If the notice is not responded to, the traffic police contacts

the police station concerned and send a notice to the owner through the police station. When that is not responded to, the traffic police seizes the vehicle. Even after that if the owner is not available, the police approaches the court to get permission to scrap the vehicle or auction it. MMJ

head of monsoon, the AB r i h a n m u m b a i Municipal Corporation (BMC) has warned repeat offenders among buildings and slums to stop dumping garbage in storm-water drains or face water supply disconnection. The new civic chief Pravin Pardeshi directed officials to take strict action against repeat offenders. Aside from levying fines against those caught throwing garbage, localities that continue to do so will face disconnection of their water supply. Each year, the BMC carries out desilting of drains as a p a r t o f i t s m o n s o o n preparations. The drains are largely filled with trash thrown by the localities situated alongside these channels. Ward level officers will keep track of the waste being dumped in the drains of their areas. We will issue warnings

and in extreme cases where we observe that it continues, the w a t e r s u p p l y w i l l b e disconnected.” Apart from this, Pardeshi has directed officials to revamp the civic body's 'MCGM 24x7' app to improve response to grievances. He has asked officials to enhance the module of the complaint section so that complainants can upload pictures a longs ide their grievances and connect this to the GPS system to track the spot easily. The civic chief also instructed officials to upload photos of the pre-monsoon work of desilting of drains and road repairs by June 21, on the app.

Board of Trustees

Chairman & Managing TrusteeD. M. Sukthankar

ConvenorGerson da Cunha

TrusteesCapt. Joe Lobo

Dinesh AhirSharad Kumar

Shyama Kulkarni

Editorial Board

Sharad Kumar [Editor]Pamela Cheema [Asstt. Editor]

Gerson daCunhaShrikant SomanShyama Kulkarni

Email: mmj.agni@gmail.comhttps://sites.google.com/site/ag

nimumbaimerijaan/

Published byAGNI

Chadha Bldg. 1st Flr, Plot No. 95, Wadala (W), Mumbai - 400031

agni.central@gmail.comPh: 2416 5956

www.agnimumbai.in

Printed atAudumber Press, Wadala

4 Mumbai Meri Jaan June 2019

MMJ

AGNI Ward Coordinators

MMRDA stormy meet

MMJ

Contd from Page 1 a resident of Kanjurmarg spoke eloquently about the destruction being caused to the green cover of Powai. “It has taken a lot of our time and money to come to this m e e t i n g b u t w e w e r e determined to come here to tell you how we have been saving trees from the Metro project as well as from Reliance c o r p o r a t i o n ,” s h e s a i d passionately. “I also want to tell you that we are going deaf by the noise generated by the machines used for excavation for the Metro.” The Metro 6 line is 14.48 kms long and is divided into three construction packages. The audience was furious when they were told that 899 trees would be cut in the first two construction packages instead of the 57 trees mentioned in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Metro 6 line. Mr Shah, an activist from the H i r a n a n d a n i C o m p l e x , questioned this discrepancy. Sonali Mishra, another activist from the Hiranandani complex, asked why the underground Metro was rejected by the state

government. Said Ms Mishra: “The underground route could have avoided the loss of green cover in the area. Besides, MMRDA's own DPR states that peak ridership on this line even at stations like Rambaug in Powai will be only around 146. So who is this Metro being built for?” She suggested that the underground option be considered via Chandivili. Other members of the a u d i e n c e s u g ge ste d t h at rerouting of the underground Metro 3 via Chandivali could also be considered. Amrita Bhattacharjee who is a lso assoc iated with the c a m p a i g n t o s av e A a re y questioned MMRDA'S lack of plans and designs for Metro 6 and asked the organization not to waste taxpayers' money, to stop work, get their act together and then move forward. Faced with this barrage of criticism, the MMRDA and DMRC officials were stunned into silence. They quietly accepted the written submissions of objections that members of the audience submitted as the meeting ended.

Contd from Page 1 sea after use. We can use this water f o l l o w i n g s e c o n d - l i n e treatment. There are some legal issues here which we will resolve soon.

Traffic congestion issues Traffic happens in most international cities when the length of roads remain constant and people buy more cars. Strengthening public transport will solve the issue but it requires a lot of investment. Metro networks will reduce the traffic of vehicles by 30 to 40 per cent. We should improve BEST services to give feeder routes to the Metro and suburban rail network.

BEST All public transport systems run in losses and the BEST also needs support. The BEST has 3200 buses and the fleet should be increased to 5000 as per the needs of the city. However, with more than 1000 crores of outstanding losses we can only afford taking buses on rent. This means taking buses on hire from private companies along

with drivers and conductors. However, the existing drivers and conductors need not worry about their jobs.

Monsoon preparedness? I have taken a meeting with the storm water dra ins department. Nullah cleaning is going on, there is a need to widen the paths of nullahs in some spots. The BMC will complete it on a war footing in the coming days. There are many flooding spots in the city and we will take extra care to drain out water. We will use GIS mapping to decongest the roads in the wake of any disaster.

Solid Waste management We should take care of our waste. Mumbai dumps its solid waste on another city's land against which locals are protesting. Waste recycling is the best method to reduce waste quantity. The waste which can't be recycled should be transported to dumping grounds and for that, we must promote waste segregation and recycling at the housing society level and the societies which do it should get property tax exemption in return.

Mumbaikars keen to have a clean city

MMJ