A day after getting elected as Mumbai’s 78th Mayor, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ritu Tawde speaks with the Indian Express about how the BMC is planning to launch a crackdown on illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and also solve key civic issues like air pollution and non-uniform water supply.
Mumbai got its first BJP mayor in 44 years and a mayor after a hiatus of four years. What will be some of your top priorities?
In the absence of corporators, people have been going to the administration to get their work done. But often that work would be left pending. Now, after elections, people have found their rightful representatives and found someone to work here. As far as my top priorities go, first and foremost, I will launch an inquiry into illegal Bangladeshi ferrywalas (hawkers) who have encroached upon Mumbai’s footpaths. In fact, tomorrow, I have called for a review meeting here at 12 pm. Second on my agenda is the installation of CCTV cameras to ensure safety of women and children. And finally, I will take account of all the civic issues in Mumbai ranging from the improvement of roads, lights, drainage system with the monsoon coming up. Ahead of the election, we had come up with a manifesto wherein we have put all our target goals. I will be working towards achieving them during my term.
Currently, BMC has no authority to check the nationality of hawkers. It can only carry out removal on the basis of their permits. So, will you be launching any special drive or issuing directives to officials to check for their nationality as well?
At present, we are checking the presence of illegal hawkers by inspecting their Aadhar card. If we find that they have fake date of births, then one can ascertain that these Aadhar cards are fake as well. How is this happening? We have questioned the BMC about it as it is the BMC which issues birth and death certificates to the citizens. I believe three or four officers have already been summoned for questioning in the matter. We are having a meeting in connection with this tomorrow. We have called in officials from ward offices of areas like Govandi, Kurla, Shivaji Nagar where we have found many such encroachments by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. In Chembur and Govandi areas for example, we have observed that a lot of coconut water vendors are Bangladeshis.
In the past four years, since the house lapsed, a lot has changed. Air pollution has emerged as a new concern in the city. How do you plan on addressing this matter?
Addressing air pollution will be on the top of our priority. It is one of the biggest issues in the city and we are not denying that, although it is incorrect to compare it with Delhi. We are studying the matter and sending notices to the builders to install digital boards on construction sites to indicate the pollution levels in the area. If the pollution levels cross a certain threshold, we will direct them to stop work or take corrective measures like sprinkling of water in the pit. Previously, we had also started the initiative of road cleaning. We are monitoring the situation and if pollution crosses a certain level, we will restart the road cleaning drive once again.
In Mumbai, the post of mayor is ceremonial since it doesn’t have any executive power. Therefore, provided the red-tape-ism involved, how do you plan to maintain the checks and balances with the administration?
This is my second term as a municipal corporator, as a result of which I fairly have an idea about how the corporation functions. You are being elected as a representative and then you come here. Therefore, first and foremost, there needs to be a curiosity of continuously understanding how the civic body functions, what are the loopholes in the system. Once you know these things, you can flag issues and then ask the administration to take action on it. Being an elected representative, you are empowered to do that. If you are unaware, then the red-tape-ism may hinder your work. Therefore, the basic thing I tell all the corporators is to learn the exact way how the administration works. Visit the departments, be it water supply, roads, sanitation or even civic hospitals. See what is going on the ground, take videos as evidence and then flag them. This should be the common modus operandi not just for me as a mayor, but also for all the municipal councillors.
You have spoken about insufficient mayor’s funds. How do you plan on augmenting this fund?
In the mayor’s fund, the money can be used to help someone marginalised, someone hospitalised or a poor student. To augment this fund, I have informed all municipal sevaks including me that they give at least a month of their salary for the mayor’s fund so that we can help the needy or use it in an emergency. In fact, I am also planning to approach the Minister for Cultural Affairs, Ashish Shelar, to organise an event for raising funds through ticket sales or QRs for this mayor’s fund.
In your maiden speech after taking over office, you have spoken about uniform water supply, how do you plan to eradicate the existing network of tanker mafia?
In Mumbai, there are many places where there is no water and they are dependent on tankers. This is a big racket, which involves people from the municipal corporation as well. The common people do not get water, but the Tanker Mafia is getting it for sure. Then what happens? The private tanker owners supply water to those deprived of uniform supply in exchange of additional money than the surplus amount. Even at times, whenever there is a crisis in supply, local residents often call the ward officials seeking help. In many cases these officers only connect them with private tanker owners who supply water at inflated prices. So, it is clearly established that this is a racket and we will have to put an end to it.
Mumbai’s ranking in the national cleanliness survey (Swachch Survekshan) has seen a dip consistently and the problem of solid waste and sanitation has become a visible issue. How do you plan to counter this now that you have assumed office?
The first and foremost solution to this problem is that Mumbaikars should start segregating waste at their house. Instead of putting all your dry, wet and hazardous waste items into one bin, people should use different bins to ensure the solid waste is segregated at the source. Because unless the waste is segregated at the source, then it becomes difficult or nearly impossible for the sanitation workers to segregate afterwards. Therefore, I would like to request Mumbaikars to initiate source-based segregation and I will personally lead a drive to ensure this process is followed. In addition to this, I will be starting daily clean up drives of roads, lanes and public spaces in Mumbai in a regulated manner.
Mumbai’s 78th Mayor Ritu Tawde (right). (Express photo by Akash Patil) 
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