Mumbai: Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association released their manifesto listing out their demands from the elected representatives. Chandivali Cha Manifesto demands that MLAs should not switch parties post elections, demanding to stop misuse of public funds to distribute freebies, inclusion of BMC under online RTI and more.
As the Maharashtra assembly elections are round the corner and candidates contesting for the elections have started campaigning, citizens have also started putting forward their demands from their future elected representatives. On Thursday, Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association released their ‘Chandivali Cha Manifesto’ to make a clear statement about their expectations from their representatives.
With a split in Maharashtra’s political parties and allegations of horse trading in 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections, the manifesto started off with a demand that the MLAs should respect the public mandate and not switch political parties post-elections. In August, the citizens association had protested against misuse of a public amenities plot near Woodland Heights society and has demanded in the manifesto to stop political encroachment on public spaces and amenities under the guise of public libraries.
After the incumbent MLA Dilip Lande’s pressure cooker distribution had come under scanner for alleged scam, the manifesto demanded that the public representatives stop misuse of public funds for free distribution of cookers, sarees, mixers and other freebies. The residents have also demanded inclusion of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation within the scope of state government’s online RTI system, which had been highlighted by The Free Press Journal.
Claiming a significant increase in electricity charges in the last three years, the manifesto also demanded affordable electricity rates. It also suggested to cap the fees charged by private schools and hospitals.
The manifesto also laid out a list of amenities and utilities in the constituency which included a sport centre for Chandivali as well as Powai and a fully functional fire station, claiming that the mini-fire station, located on the Chandivali farm road, is ineffective due to lack of staff and fire engines. It also alleged shoddy road concretisation work at DP Road 9 in Powai and demanded that it should be repaired, along with implementation of DP plan and widening of roads to resolve traffic congestion.
Along with wide demands of effective implementation of the Right to Service Act and the Right to Information Act among various government departments, the manifesto also includes local demands including effective implementation of pedestrian first policy, removal of encroachments on footpaths and public spaces, deal with non-maintenance of public gardens and banning the usage of gas cylinders on footpaths. It also demanded abolition of GST levied on cooperative housing societies.
The manifesto also included demands related to concerns about pollution by demanding actions to deal with solid waste management, noise pollution and air pollution from illegal bhattis and cement plants in the locality. It also sought a permanent solution to the problem of illegal heavy vehicles parked near residential areas.
