Believe it or not, the biggest issue in the commercial capital of the country is potholes. And instead of fixing them, the ruling Shiv Sena and BJP are fighting over which potholes belongs to whom! The city’s mayor has announced that Mumbai will be pothole-free in the next 15 days, but that’s unlikely to happen.
The Quint gives you 8 reasons why the island city’s experience with potholes is... immersive, if you get our drift.
Tera gadhdha ya mera gadhdha?
When BJP MP Kirit Somaiya met Mumbai mayor Snehal Ambekar to complain about potholes, the latter washed her hands off the matter, saying that not all potholes belonged to the BMC (read Shiv Sena). She looked Somaiya straight in the eye and said some potholes are on the roads run by the state government (read BJP).
Mumbai has 2000 km of road; out of that, 1874 km are maintained by the BMC, while the remaining 126 km are maintained by various agencies of the state government. Now the state government has sent a proposal saying that it will hand over its roads to the BMC, but the proposal is stuck over who will lay claim to the advertising revenue from hoardings.
Polls, Politics and Potholes
Potholes are a problem for Mumbai every year, but this year is unique. The city is already in election mode, ahead of the 2017 municipal polls. After emerging as the single largest party in the Assembly, a section in the BJP wants to fight it alone in Mumbai too. An aggressive BJP is trying to corner Shiv Sena on every possible issue.
Mumbai police (that comes under Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis) recently set up an SIT to probe the road scam worth Rs 352 crore. The SIT has so far arrested 24 persons including auditors and engineers. This has led to protests by BMC engineers, further delaying fixing of potholes.
Corruption
It has been alleged that there exists a nexus among ruling Shiv Sena corporators, contractors and BMC officers, which ensures that even blacklisted contractors are awarded contracts.
Barring a short gap of 3 years, the Shiv Sena-BJP combine has been ruling Mumbai for the last 31 years. As a result, ties between those in power and contractors have grown stronger. This leads to corruption, which leads to substandard, poorly-maintained road.
More Corruption
It doesn’t stop at making substandard roads. Such roads develop potholes regularly and then new contracts are awarded to fix them! This year Rs 39 crore is being spent by the BMC to repair potholes. Last year, Rs 60 crore was spent.
BMC vs the Administration
BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta is considered to be close to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. So, inside the 100-year-old BMC building, there are two power poles: the Commissioner and the Mayor. The struggle for power between the two delays the decision making process.
Asphalt, Paver or Concrete?
There are 3 types of roads in Mumbai. The first kind are the original black roads, which are made of asphalt. Then, Assistant Commissioner RA Rajeev thought asphalt should be replaced by paver blocks. And now, Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray wants all roads to be concretised. Nearly half of the city’s roads are now made of concrete. They are pothole-free.
Although it is expensive, one wonders what stopped the richest municipal corporation (with a budget of a whopping Rs 37,000 crore!) from building concrete roads across the city!
More Emotional Rhetoric, Less Civics
In Mumbai, elections are fought and won on emotional speeches rather than civic issues. Marathi manus vs the outsider has been the main theme for some years now. Some parties in the opposition play the religion card instead of focusing on sadak-bijli-pani. Interestingly, those who travel by car and get stuck in pothole-induced traffic jams seldom come out to vote.
Weak Opposition
The Opposition is equally to be blamed. It’s their job to keep a tab on the transactions of the BMC. But many in the Opposition want to maintain good relationships with those in power to get jobs in their wards done. It is alleged that the representatives of the Opposition parties in the Standing Committee too receive their ‘commission’. The MNS now seems to be focusing on real issues, but the party has a track record of whipping up emotional issues before elections. Mumbai Congress is in a disarray.
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