Largest ward grapples with encroachments

Records show that last year,each corporator spent between 60 and 90 per cent of the total allotted funds. In her first year in office,corporator Binita Vora of ward 65 spent a little more than 50 per cent,while at Rs 53 lakh,Sanjay Pawar of ward 60 spent the maximum funds.

Construction of the first phase of Metro on the J P Road has caused major problems to residents. JP Road is the arterial road that connects Yari Road to Andheri railway station. For the majority of construction,large portions of the both lanes of the road were closed to traffic,having only been recently opened. The work has left the road in a mess,residents said.

“JP Road has always been congested,but its condition worsened after the Metro. The road,which was dug up,has not been levelled and has huge potholes. Motorists don’t want to get stuck in jams and go via smaller bylanes,increasing traffic in residential neighbourhoods. Instead of focusing on repairing the road,corporators are spending money on fixing small lanes,” said Lokhandwala resident Asish Misra.

Corporators,on the other hand,put the blame on MMRDA,which is responsible for Metro. “After completing its work,the MMRDA handed the road to us in a mess even though it was supposed to repair it. There have been several discussions and the BMC and MMRDA will now jointly undertake repairs after monsoon,” said corporator Mohsin Haider of ward 61.

As far as reclaiming the sidewalks from squatters and hawkers is concerned,no positive action has been taken even after the massive drive by the BMC and Mumbai Police earlier this year. In Four Bungalows,residents have been pushing for the development of a market on a vacant plot where hawkers,who choke the narrow market road,can be shifted to.

“We walk on the roads at the risk of death. We do not want to take away the hawkers’ livelihood but there should be a space where they can work without blocking the road. The area desperately needs a market,” said senior citizen Alexandrina Aiyar of the N-Dutta Marg Area Locality Management (ALM). A proposal for the market is pending with the BMC Improvements Committee,Pawar said.

In Vile Parle,residents alleged that their corporator is not working with them to decongest the roads. “The road leading to the station has been radically altered since the skywalk was built. It is misaligned and riddled with potholes. To make matters worse,hawkers have taken over both sides of the road,limiting the already scarce space for traffic. Snarls at Vile Parle station are further compounded by the absence of an organised rickshaw stand,” said Hina Shroff of the Mumbai Nagrik Manch,a collection of several ALMs in Vile Parle West.

“We have appealed to the BMC several times to move the vegetable vendors to the designated market space. But political interests have taken over and that space comprises only commercial establishments. There are hardly any fruits and vegetable vendors there now. Even if the BMC can’t use the market,the hawkers must be moved to one allotted space,” she added.

Corporators rued that the tedious e-tender system is to blame for delay in finishing major works. “We receive little response from contractors during e-tendering for small works. It is only when we club several small projects and increase the tender amount that contractors come forward. From the time the tender is floated,it takes at least six months before work can begin. This is why,I have not been able to spend the entire allotted amount,” said corporator Jyoti Sutar of ward 58.