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Journalism of Courage
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday demanded a white paper on road projects in Mumbai sanctioned by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Raising questions on the condition of roads in the city, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar said, “In the last 24 years, the BMC has spent Rs 21,000 crore on road works. Despite such huge expenditure, the potholes in Mumbai roads have only increased. Therefore, the question arises as to who benefitted from these contracts and where the money has gone,” he asked.
Shelar also wondered if the Shiv Sena, which is a ruling party in the BMC, and the state government are afraid of issuing a white paper on the matter. “The BMC should come out with a comprehensive white paper giving details about each and every project, its current status, who was awarded the road work contract and allocation of money,” Shelar said.
Pointing out that the BMC was spending public money on these roads, he said the civic body should hold the contractors responsible for the sub-standard work. “The BMC can’t just generously allocate funds to contractors without demanding high-quality work,” he observed.
“Rs 21,000 crore is a huge amount. If the amount was utilised for the stated purpose, Mumbai would have had the best roads. Instead, the country’s commercial capital has sub-standard roads. Contractors are not penalised for shoddy work even as the pothole-ridden stretches turn into little ponds during the monsoon,” he pointed out.
The BJP leader said the party will not relent unless its demand for a white paper is accepted. If the state government and BMC take Mumbaikars for granted, they will soon teach the Shiv Sena a lesson in the upcoming BMC polls, Shelar added.
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