This monsoon, if you spot potholes on city roads all you need to do is to raise a complaint with the official concerned, which until now has not been an easy task.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in a first, will soon publish a list detailing names and contact numbers of officials from the civic body and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), who will attend to such complaints.
“We will specifically mention the areas that are under the jurisdiction of the BMC and the MMRDA. The list will also have contact numbers of officials in-charge of the locations. We will put these details in newspaper advertisements, and on the BMC website and the potholefixit mobile app,” a senior civic official said.
For years, the two agencies have been blaming each other for potholes that spring up on roads after heavy rain. The MMRDA looks after arterial roads and the roads where its infrastructure work is in progress, while the BMC maintains the rest of the roads. The flyovers on the eastern and western express highway are maintained by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
The official said the BMC had permitted the MMRDA to carry out Metro works on certain terms and conditions which included regular maintenance of roads and keeping them free of potholes. “However, these guidelines have not been properly followed over the years. Therefore, we have decided to upload their contact details for efficient management and transparency. Besides, most of the road-digging and construction works in Mumbai are being executed by the MMRDA.”
SVR Srinivas, commissioner of MMRDA, said both the agencies would coordinate this monsoon to ensure there was swift action and response.
“A number of complaints about potholes and bad patches received by the BMC are related to the Western Express Highway and the locations where Metro works are in progress. The civic body forwards these complaints to the MMRDA but it leaves them unattended. The BMC takes the blame whereas all the non-attended potholes are on the roads and bridges looked after by the MMRDA,” a circular issued by additional municipal commissioner P Velarasu on June 10 said.
Meanwhile, in a press statement, the MMRDA said it had set up round-the-clock control rooms to address monsoon-related woes like tree collapse, waterlogging, and potholes. These control rooms will function like the BMC’s disaster management control rooms.
“The MMRDA control rooms have been set up to minimise the inconvenience caused to the vehicular and pedestrian traffic at its various project sites,” the statement said.
Rahul Kardile, joint metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “The contractors have been asked to strictly adhere to the safety measures. They have been instructed to put up barricades, repair damaged roads, and clear the muck. The contractors will also maintain dewatering pumps at the waterlogging spots and where there is no connectivity to storm water drains.”