BMC fines 4 contractors 40L for pumps that failed to stop flooding
Mumbai: A day after parts of the island city went under in the face of an early monsoon downpour, BMC cracked down on four contractors tasked with operating mini pumping stations at key locations to avert flooding.
Each operator has been fined Rs10 lakh for malfunctioning pumping stations at Dadar Hindmata, Sion Gandhi Market, Yellow Gate at Masjid, and Chunabhatti. Admitting to disruptions caused by waterlogging on arterial roads, a BMC statement said the pumps "were either not functioning on time or not operating at full capacity. This led to traffic and civic life being disrupted in…Hindmata and Gandhi Market. At Masjid…station, waterlogging for a few minutes affected train operations.
Although Chunabhatti did not receive much rain, the pumps there were not running at full capacity." The corporation said "no negligence or lapse" would be "tolerated".
Critics questioned the action against the contractors saying the penalty was negligible and civic officials responsible for overseeing the work were getting away without even a rap on the knuckles.
In BMC's defence, additional municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar said the corporation was caught off-guard by the intensity and speed with which the monsoon swept into Mumbai.
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"The monsoon hit Kerala on May 24. As in previous years, we expected it to take 7-10 days to reach Mumbai. Our plan was to finish all pre-monsoon work by May 31 — we would've been prepared had the rain followed the usual pattern," he said.
BMC's top brass are planning to hold a debriefing session on Wednesday with ward level officers and storm water department staff to discuss Monday's fiasco. Officials fear that debris from ongoing road works may have entered and blocked drains during the rains.
Works were taken up on a war footing on Tuesday to tackle this problem.
This year, the corporation had reduced the number of pumps deployed to push water into stormwater drains in low lying areas to 417 from 482 last year. However, Monday's fiasco may prompt the BMC to heed demands from ward level staff and up the number. Even as chronic flood-prone areas like King Circle and Hindmata remain a challenge, new trouble spots have emerged at such places as Flora Fountain and Mantralaya in Nariman Point.
Bangar said, "We didn't see the point of keeping pumps deployed for 120 days across the monsoon, only for them to be unused or run for just an hour. The idea behind scaling back from last year was to deploy them where actually needed, not just for the sake of it."
Deputy municipal commissioners across the seven zones in the metropolis have now been asked to inspect their areas for gaps and report necessary fixes. "Based on their findings, a meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday to decide the way forward for similar intense rain events," Bangar added.
Along with other monsoon works, BMC this year plans to spend close to Rs 150 crore for filling potholes. The amount allocated is less in comparison to the Rs 205 crore spent last year. Incidentally, the corporation spends Rs 150 crore every year for taking dewatering pumps on rent for the four monsoon months.
However, former corporator and Samajwadi party MLA Rais Shaikh questioned the overall approach saying BMC was neither making contractors more accountable by putting hefty penalties nor did it have systems in place to discipline its own staff.
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