Mumbai, Dec 02: Ahead of the upcoming BMC elections, NGO Praja Foundation on Tuesday released its Citizens Manifesto for Maharashtra’s Election 2025, outlining key reforms to strengthen urban governance.
The manifesto prioritises improved service delivery, transparent and accessible civic data and sustained capacity-building for municipal staff. Over the next two weeks, the NGO will meet candidates from all major political parties to present this citizen-driven agenda and advocate for its inclusion in their election platforms.
Concerns Over 4-Year Administrator Rule in BMC
The BMC is nearing four years under state-appointed administration — the longest in its 159-year history — raising citizen concerns over the absence of elected representatives.
As Phase 1 of Maharashtra’s local body elections began on Tuesday across 264 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats, Praja’s Citizens’ Manifesto highlighted five priorities: maximising existing municipal powers, setting clear service delivery standards, ensuring real-time transparency through open data, enabling citizen participation via a unified digital platform and strengthening municipal capacity through better staffing, systems and digitally empowered Ward Committees.
Leadership Voices Call for Citizen-Centred Governance
Nitai Mehta, Founder and Managing Trustee of Praja Foundation, said, “The three-year delay in local elections has left crucial decisions affecting daily life without citizen input. The Citizens’ Manifesto reminds us that governance must reflect the public voice. Restoring democratic processes is essential to rebuilding trust and ensuring citizens are involved in decisions shaping their neighbourhoods and futures.” Milind Mhaske, CEO of Praja Foundation, added, “Our team will meet every political party and candidate to present the manifesto. By committing to this pledge, leaders can lay the foundation for transparent and truly people-centric urban governance.”
Strengthening Core Urban Services
The Citizens’ Manifesto urges municipal corporations to strengthen core urban services — water, sewerage and solid waste management — alongside public health infrastructure, civic school education and the urban environment.
It emphasises citizen participation and accountability, mandatory disclosure of service-level benchmarks, quarterly ward reports, five-year priority service commitments, capacity building for municipal staff and elected representatives, an open data portal for transparency and digital e-governance to capture citizen feedback and needs.
Key Highlights From Praja’s Data
. According to the NGO’s report, between 2021 and 2024, 38,985 road-related complaints were registered, with 31% concerning potholes or damaged road patches. The report calls for measures to prevent at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.
. In Mumbai, average water supply is 45 litres per capita per day (LPCD) for slum areas and 135 LPCD for residential buildings, but many households receive less. In 2024, 44% of 14,522 water-related complaints were about shortages, while 14% concerned contamination. Of the city’s 287 zones, 205 (71%) receive only up to 4 hours of water daily. The report calls for 24/7 water supply and metered connections for all households.
. Major sea outlets and beaches in Mumbai are polluted due to untreated sewage and surface waste, including solid garbage.
. In 2024, only one in four public toilet seats was designated for women. Based on census slum population figures, there is one community toilet seat per 86 males and 81 females in 2023. Across Mumbai, 69% of community toilet blocks lack water connections and 60% lack electricity.
. Total deaths registered in Mumbai have increased by 6% from 89,037 in 2017 to 94,553 in 2022.
. While the BMC claims 100% door-to-door waste collection for 2023-24, 10,205 complaints were registered in 2024 about garbage not being cleared from roads and other locations.
. The BMC Citizen Charter mandates resolving garbage-related complaints within one day. In practice, it took an average of 11 days to address complaints about uncollected garbage, 17 days for unattended collection points and 20 days when garbage vehicles failed to arrive.
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. From 2020 to 2024, air quality complaints surged 203% from 151 to 457, outpacing the 100% rise in overall pollution-related complaints, highlighting growing concern over air quality.
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