Navi Mumbai municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar has directed the Garden department of NMMC to resolve complaints within 24 hours after receiving it. He also asked to reach the spot within one hour, whether complaints have been given in written or shared through social media. The civic chief was reviewing the instructions given during the meeting with the Garden Department held on December 16.
Bangar also warned that in future, he will pay a surprise visit to any place to check the condition of the parks and gardens and if any negligence is found in the work, the responsibility will be fixed.
Last month, the irregularities in the maintenance of gardens surfaced and following an inquiry, three officials from the Garden department were suspended. During the inquiry, it was found that two contractors did not maintain gardens and parks during the lockdown period.
After the incident, the civic chief has taken a tough stand on dereliction of duty and paying a surprise visit to different departments. He had also given 15 days to the Garden department to complete all maintenance work. During the meeting on December 31, he checked photographs of today’s condition of gardens and 15 days old condition.
Bangar said that everyone should know their responsibility and respond quickly after receiving any complaints. “I have directed that complaints received through written or social media, one should reach the site within one hour and resolve within 24 hours,” said Bangar.
He also cleared that it is the garden assistants’ responsibility to get the work done by the contractor. Bangar directed to make a change in the app to indicate the correct entry. Currently, the app which is being used for garden works shows that the complaints filed by the garden assistant resolved even though the complaints have not been resolved by the contractor.
The civic chief also directed to make all closed parks and gardens operational and streamline all the gardens in opening and closing timings. “All parks in the municipal area should have the same time and it is displayed prominently at the entrance of the garden,” said Bangar.
He also directed the Deputy Commissioner of Gardens and Assistant Commissioners to visit different parks on a daily basis and make suggestions for their improvement and to pay close attention to the fulfilment of the instructions.
