Mumbai: Maharashtra Minister Ashish Shelar on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing nullah desilting works in Mumbai, terming them "unreliable", and demanded greater accountability from contractors and civic officials.
Shelar, the Mumbai Suburban Guardian Minister, inspected several desilting sites in the western suburbs during the day.
Talking to reporters, Shelar said, "In some areas, even 10 per cent of the work has not been completed in the last 35 days, while in others, there has been around 20 to 30 per cent progress. Overall, the works appear completely unreliable." The minister began the inspection at Gazdarbund in Santacruz (west) and continued to the nullahs at SNDT, Irla, Mogra, and Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar areas. Former corporators, BJP leaders, and concerned officials were present.
Highlighting a lack of transparency, he said, "Officials claim that videos and photographs of the desilting works were being taken, but they could not show videos of the actual sludge removal and dumping. Even the online application used to record the progress hasn't been updated. This raises serious concerns about the credibility of the work." Shelar criticised the lack of clarity in measuring the nullahs and said contractors were not ready to provide information about the machines and processes they have used to assess silt.
"We will ask the municipal commissioner to inspect the work. The work must be completed on time to prevent inconvenience to Mumbaikars. Necessary machinery must be deployed, and contractors must be held accountable," he said.
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