Maharashtra Assembly polls: Nearly 11k BMC staffers on poll duty, concerns over civic work taking a hit
According to senior officials from the BMC’s administrative department, 10,821 civic officials have been called in for election duty from across the departments
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On December 30, the BMC had implemented GRAP guidelines in Mumbai, stopping ongoing construction works in areas where AQI readings would breach the ‘poor’ mark.Nearly 11,000 staffers from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been roped in for election duty for the upcoming Assembly polls that is likely to affect the daily civic operations, according to officials. The city is also grappling with worsening AQI levels and the staff crunch has residents concerned about the implementation of air pollution mitigation measures.
According to senior officials from the BMC’s administrative department, 10,821 civic officials have been called in for election duty from across the departments over the past few days, so far. Of these, nearly 9,774 staffers have been deployed as Block Level Officers (BLO) while the other 1,047 have been appointed as Zonal Officers (ZO).
Speaking to The Indian Express, an official said, “The officials have been roped in from all the departments and is bound to have an impact on the daily operations. Over 9,000 officials have been deployed as BLOs who will return only after the results are declared.”
The Assembly elections are scheduled to be held on November 20 and the results will be declared on November 23. In an increase of 218 polling stations from the Lok Sabha elections conducted in May this year, 10,111 polling stations have been earmarked in Mumbai district for the state assembly elections with an average of 1,200 voters in each station. For the Lok Sabha elections also, over 9,000 BMC staffers were dispatched for election duty since February.
Bhagwan Kesbhat, founder-director of Waatavaran Foundation, said that the deployment of staffers from health and solid waste management departments could pose challenges in the implementation of air pollution mitigation measures in the city.
Earlier this month, civic chief Bhushan Gagrani had convened a meeting with officials, instructing all officials from 24 wards to form dedicated squads to monitor the contribution factors leading to the increased pollution level in Mumbai.
Keshbat told The Indian Express, “At present, even the existing institutional mechanisms such as the disaster helpline, for instance, are not prepared to handle air pollution-related grievances. The BMC also plans to deploy flying squads to monitor emissions. If officials from key departments such as health and solid waste management are called for duty, there will be challenges in implementing the clean air programme.”
Milind Mhaske, CEO of Praja Foundation, said that with proper planning and leadership, civic work can go on unaffected. “Services related to water or solid waste management are unlikely to get affected much, while other services may see some delay. With proper planning that also can be managed,” he added.
Over 7,000 posters removed in 48 hrs
Within 48 hours since the Model Code of Conduct came to fore on October 15, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) removed 7,389 banners and hoardings across the city by Thursday evening. The civic body also urged the citizens to flag violations through the cVIGIL application or helpline number 1950.
The material removed so far include 3,703 banners, 1,331 flags, 942 posters, 817 plaques and 596 cutouts. The drive was initiated through the civic licence department. “When the code of conduct is in place, placards and banners should not be put up anywhere in an unauthorised manner,” read a civic bulletin, adding that only posters with prior permissions will be allowed.
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