BMC may stop costly home deliveries8217;

November 15: Home delivery may no longer be on the BMC's agenda, after all. As a cost-cutting measure, the corporation's general body is ...

November 15: Home delivery may no longer be on the BMC8217;s agenda, after all. As a cost-cutting measure, the corporation8217;s general body is studying a proposal to discontinue delivering direct to the doors of corporators the schedules and agendas of all meetings.

The proposal, forwarded by Bharatiya Janata Party corporator now also an MLA Sardar Tara Singh, has cited the case of the State Assembly in support of the snapping of this practice. In the state legislature, MLAs and MLCs have to collect copies of meeting schedules and agendas from boxes specially kept for this purpose. If the BMC follows a similar practice, it will save more than Rs one crore annually, Singh said.

According to him, 8220;the civic staff has to deliver even the smallest of letters to all the 221 corporators, sometimes very early in the morning. Considering the use of diesel and petrol and the allowances that have to be given for this work, the expenditure goes up to more than Rs one crore in a year, which the BMC can ill-afford atthis stage.8221;

The general body meets five times a month, the standing committee once a week and other ancillary committees once in a month. The agendas of all meetings have to be delivered to the homes of all corporators at least 11 times in a month.

This work is handled by the municipal secretary8217;s department, whose vehicles do the rounds from Colaba to Dahisar and from CST to Mankhurd and Mulund. There are 11 jeeps and 24 persons 11 drivers and 13 peons employed for this job. 8220;When it is urgent, they are expected to deliver all copies by late midnight, else they may face the wrath of a corporator complaining of not having received his copy,8221; a department official said.

The staff of the municipal secretary8217;s department have been voicing the demand to stop home delivery of letters for some time now. Those on the job had also complained to former municipal secretary Suresh Chaube, but the practice has continued.

Sources also said that meeting agendas are sent to corporators8217; homes to enable them tostudy them, but few corporators do this. Most of them come unprepared in the House, so all the effort and expenditure goes right down the drain, they added.