Replying to a resolution moved by the Opposition in the Legislative Council last week issue over the pothole-ridden roads of Mumbai, the chief minister on Friday took a dig at the Shiv Sena-ruled BMC.
Berating the standing committee chairman of the BMC, CM Prithviraj Chavan said, “The chairman of the committee recently offered to resign. What will he or the corporation get out of it? Instead, they should introspect and find long-term solutions.”
Standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale had tendered his resignation on Tuesday and took moral responsibility for the failure of the BMC to repair potholes. While the party leadership turned down his plea, the move indicated the growing uneasiness in the Shiv Sena over its failure to tackle the pothole menace.
Mr Chavan added that the committee even tried to clear a proposal of eliminating the third party audit on road works, which was introduced under pressure from the state government last year.
“The third party audit has found that enough supervision is not being conducted in the BMC over road works. This is leading to poor quality of work and tenders being awarded to the same contractors over and over again,” Mr Chavan said.
Speaking on behalf of the Sena-run corporation, Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray had recently — on a social networking site — admitted to the shortcomings of the BMC in keeping Mumbai pothole-free.
He, however, said that the problem could be resolved if there was a single authority to oversee work of roads in the city.