43 corporators didn't ask even 1 question

Vinod Kumar Menon and Varun Singh ask five of them their reason for keeping mum at ward committee meetings

Vinod Kumar Menon and Varun Singh ask five of them their reason for keeping mum at ward committee meetings

These are the men and women who're supposed to better our life in Mumbai. Provide us with good roads, clean water and cleaner surroundings.

However, all these BMC corporators have done isu00a0 kept quiet. Of the 227 corporators, 43 did not raise a single query between January 2008 and June 2009 in the Ward Committee meetings of the BMC.

That's what the Praja Foundation found through several RTI applications. While six of them can be excused, as they have been suspended, the others have no justification for keeping quiet.











The notorious corporators include Congress's Rajhans Singh from the L ward, BJP's Ujjwala Modak from the K-East ward and E ward's Geeta Gawli.

We spoke to four of these corporators and asked them why they weren't doing their job.

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Major problems: water shortage, illegal construction, drainage, cleaning of septic tank and bad roads

NCP corporator Vidya Chavan said: The report is rubbish; I have always raised questions. The chairman of the meeting always asks me not to raise any more questions.

Malad-resident Hiten Tejwani grumbles: Water shortage is a major concern. Everyone in Mumbai is suffering. I won't complain about it. The roads are always dug up.

They cause inconvenience. But the corporator cannot be blamed because I never interacted with her/him. I don't even know who my corporator is.

Major problems: water shortage, unauthorised construction, potholes and sewerage problem

Akhil Bharatiya Sena corporator Geeta Gawli says: I never speak in the meetings because asking questions yields no results. I believe in solving them. And I have been doing this all this time.

Byculla resident Agnelo Fernandes grumbles: The major concern in the area is lack of cleanliness. If the corporator has not asked even a question, it's something we should worry about.

Major problems: Potholes, tree-felling, unauthorised construction, sewerage and water shortage

BJP corporator Ujjwala Modak said: Being the chairman of the education committee, I couldn't visit the ward and hence couldn't ask questions.

Andheri resident Mohammed Iqbal Mulla grumbles: One of the major problems we face is traffic congestion, perennially dug-up roads and massive potholes.

I do not blame the corporator alone. Citizens should have civic sense as well.

But the least the corporator can do for us is to conduct sessions in large corporate houses and housing colonies to educate public about basic civic sense.

Major problems: water shortage, digging of roads, no street lights

Shiv Sena corporator Parvati Gorivale says: I have been raising issues in the ward committee meetings regularly. I recently asked a question on water issues, as my ward heavily suffers from water shortage.

Parel-resident Vijay Mukhi grumbles: The access roads to my building are in poor shape. We always have a water tanker standing in the building to counter water shortage.

Nothing is being done to reduce noise in my area. I am partly to blame because I haven't met my corporator/ward officer.

The study further reveals that the Sena-BJP ruling combine asked 489 questions, while Congress corporators posed 298 questions. While 124 corporators asked only 1 to 5 questions, 16 to 33 questions were asked by 10 corporators.

Arun Gawli's party Akhil Bhartiya Sena asked only 1 question of the two corporators it has.

The Bahujan Samaj Party, which has only one corporator in the BMC, asked three questions and the Samajwadi party with seven corporators asked 22 questions.

The MNS's seven corporators asked only 13 questions in the meetings.

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