Mumbai: With an eye on the upcoming elections to the BMC, the state government has approved Rs 60 crore for the development of basic facilities in Mumbai through the slum board.
The funds have been sanctioned by the urban development department (UDD) headed by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Interestingly, all the funds have been earmarked for the Mumbai Suburban District (MSD) and will go to the Mumbai Slum Improvement Board through the district collector.
The BMC has no role to play in the works to be undertaken for the development of basic facilities such as improvement of the drainage network, public toilets, roads, gardens, amenities in clusters of buildings, chawls and slums.
The slum board undertakes all such works for the MLAs, MLCs and MPs through their local area development funds. Probably for the first time, the UDD is allocating such a huge amount to the slum Board, which incidentally is part of the housing department headed by Shinde.
Sources in the know claim that the funds will be spent under the guidance of local MLAs and the former corporators belonging to the BJP and the Shiv Sena, led by Shinde.
The UDD has issued at least 15 government resolutions (GRs) of Rs4 crore each. The works to be undertaken will be completed at a speed so that they can be inaugurated before the BMC elections, showcasing the public-friendly projects to attract voters, say sources.
More than half of the corporators belonging to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena have already joined the Eknath Shinde-led Sena. It is also significant that the funds are being spent in Mumbai suburban and not in the city, where the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has a strong presence. It makes clear that Shinde and the BJP want to concentrate on the suburbs.
