Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Ashwini Bhide on Wednesday morning carried out a detailed inspection of multiple civic facilities in Andheri and Vile Parle areas of Mumbai’s western suburbs. The visit included sanitation posts, insecticide department units, road repair and stores units, and maintenance chowkies.
Interaction with sanitation workers, review of facilities
During the visit, Bhide interacted with sanitation workers at various chowkies and enquired about their work conditions, duty hours and operational challenges. She directed officials to ensure that sanitation, maintenance, and insecticide units are maintained properly with adequate facilities and support infrastructure.
Concerns over supervision in maintenance department
The Commissioner observed that although sufficient manpower is available in the maintenance department, junior engineers (JEs) were not exercising adequate supervision. She stressed the need for stricter monitoring and accountability at the ground level to improve the quality of civic work.
Instructions on civic maintenance and in-house work
Bhide instructed all Assistant Commissioners to review staff strength at each maintenance chowky. She further directed that routine works such as curb stone installation, footpath repairs, and road divider maintenance should be prioritised through municipal in-house labour, while the use of contractors for such regular tasks should be minimised.
Area-wise planning and phased implementation
The BMC chief asked Assistant Commissioners to conduct field visits within their jurisdictions and prepare detailed area-wise planning. According to Bhide, the plans should be implemented in phases using both in-house manpower and contractors where necessary to ensure visible improvement in road maintenance across Mumbai.
Pre-monsoon review of nullahs and pumping stations
As part of the inspection, Bhide visited the solid waste management chowky near Andheri railway station, the insecticide unit at Tata Compound in Vile Parle West, and the maintenance chowky on Bajaj Road. She also reviewed the Irla nullah, SNDT nullah, and Gajdharband pumping station to assess pre-monsoon preparedness.
Flood mitigation and debris control measures
The Commissioner directed officials to ensure that the Irla rainwater pumping station in Juhu remains operational at full capacity to provide flood relief in vulnerable areas, including the Milan subway, Cooper Hospital vicinity, Vile Parle railway station, and the Juhu-Vile Parle Development Scheme area.
She also instructed officials to implement immediate measures to prevent solid waste and floating debris from entering the Juhu seashore.
Officials present during inspection
Senior officials, including Deputy Commissioner (Commissioner’s Office) Prashant Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner (Zone 7) Manish Valanju, Assistant Commissioner Chakrapani Alle, and other civic officers, were present during the inspection.
