BMC holds meet with former corporators, guardian minister

MUMBAI: After a gap of over four months, BMC held a meeting with 60 former corporators, municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, additional municipal commissioners, divisional heads, ward officers, and city’s guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Tuesday. Several civic issues were discussed in the meeting.
“The BMC holds these meetings with former corporators to maintain the direct connection we have with the public,” said Vinod Mishra, a former corporator from Malad who was present at the meeting that lasted for over an hour. “But the last one was held before the Lok Sabha elections, so it has been a while.”
Among the issues discussed were public toilets in the city, the conditions these are in, and the scope for improvement. A new batch of public toilets is being constructed but the pace of work is very slow. So, we have highlighted it,” said Mishra.
Other issues discussed included the ‘zero prescription’ policy in civic hospitals, announced in November 2023, which aims to enable patients to get their prescriptions within the hospital, but is yet to be properly implemented. Mishra also highlighted the SK Patil Hospital in Malad that is stuck in litigation with a trust.
Pothole and sewerage issues also came up for discussion with attendees stressing that these need to be treated with urgency. “Work is pending in 70 public gardens and playgrounds. This should be fast-tracked and made available to the public soon.”
Guardian minister Lodha said that since BMC has not had corporators for over two years, the question arises whether people’s issues are reaching the civic body or not.