The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) corporators have appealed to the civic and state administration to resume physical meetings of ward and statutory committees, citing the decline in Covid-19 cases.
In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party MLA and Corporator Rais Shaikh said, "Local trains have been unlocked for all. International flight services have also resumed. Taking all these into consideration, the BMC should resume physical meetings."
Earlier, in April, the Bombay HC had ordered all statutory meetings to take place online.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the BMC had moved the HC, stating that transparency wouldn't be maintained during online meetings. "It becomes very difficult to present our views during online sessions. It’s really unfair to the public representatives," it said.
Shaikh also maintained that, since the Covid-19 outbreak, the mayor has not called for a meeting with the group leaders. He added that such meetings should be called at the earliest, considering the upcoming civic polls.
Meanwhile, BJP Corporator Prabhakar Shinde said statutory meetings should be resumed physically for those who have taken both the doses of the vaccine. "We are unable to address civic issues properly. Corporators who are fully vaccinated should be allowed to participate in physical proceedings," said Shinde. He maintained that most representatives have already been inoculated with both the doses.
