An Aam Aadmi’s Open Letter to the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner

It’s time to take some action.

At least 14 people were killed and as many injured after a major fire engulfed Kamala Mills compound in Lower Parel, Mumbai on Thursday night. 

(Photo: PTI)

Dear Mr Ajoy Mehta,

I wish to express my heartfelt anguish at the tragedy that befell Lower Parel on 29 December at around 12:30 am, where 14 innocents lives were lost and many injured. But more than that I wish to express my anger at you and your subordinates, in the local G-South BMC Ward Office, who turned a blind eye to the gross illegal constructions which had taken place which led to this tragedy.

It’s not that you or your subordinates were ignorant of these illegalities. Several activists in the past had brought it to your notice, but you or your subordinates decided to turn a blind eye to every warning.

In any case, it is the duty of the Junior Officers, Mukadams and Assistant Engineer (B&F) to detect and take action against illegal constructions. So now questions which need to be answered are – Were there no illegal constructions whatsoever? Were the illegal constructions, if any, demolished and the violators punished by your officers? Did the Assistant Engineer (B&F) lie to the activists in writing that on inspection of 1Above Pub, he found no illegal constructions at all?

A massive fire broke out in Kamala Mills on Thursday night.(Photo: Twitter/@journoaman)   

Sadly, all this was avoidable. The superiors of the officers, who had the duty to halt this illegality and penalise the guilty, chose to ignore the complaints. No follow-up on citizens grievances were done, nor meetings were held by the Assistant Municipal Commissioner with citizens and his HoDs in tow, so that the illegalities brought to their notice could have been promptly acted upon.

One of the earlier Additional Municipal Commissioners (City), in her wisdom, had sent out a circular directing the Assistant Municipal Commissioners to halt the Ward meetings of HoDs with citizens on the frivolous pretext of “non-segregation of garbage by citizens”. On reading this circular the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinates were overjoyed as they got an open ground to do as they wish without the citizens breathing down their necks.

You on your part too diverted our grievances to the same officers who had indulged in dereliction of duty and misgovernance. (Photo: The Quint)

You on your part too diverted our grievances to the same officers who had indulged in dereliction of duty and misgovernance. But sadly, you did just that and slept over it later as it is evident from the replies received from your office under RTI Act. You simply diverted the RTIs to the same officer to provide the information, even though the citizen had sought information on the action taken by you against your errant subordinates.

Judging from this sordid whole picture, the stringent provisions of IPC and MCOCA etc, need to be invoked against the junior-most officer in Building & Factory Dept of G-South ward office up to you as the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai.

If there is any shame remaining in you and if you wish to retain the faith of citizens, then you would immediately do the following :

1. Dismiss the concerned officers (not transfer them as you have done of the AC of G-South) from service

2. File FIRs against all the concerned officers under Sec. 166, 217, 218 etc. of IPC, Delay in Discharge of Duties Act, Service Conduct Rules and MCOCA.

3. Revoke the Circular issued by an earlier Additional Municipal Commissioner (City), thus ensuring monthly meetings of residents’ associations, citizens groups etc, with all the HoDs and the Assistant Municipal Commissioner of every ward.

4. You start taking your “Lok Shahi” day meetings with citizens very seriously and ensure that derelict officers are taken to task by incorporating a negative remark in their Service Record and even demoting/suspending them for their acts of omission and commission.

If yet you do not wake up, then God save us citizens from periodic disasters such as floods, fires, accidents due to bad roads, illegal constructions, contaminated drinking water, slums and hawkers blocking our roads and footpaths, malaria, dengue and further corruption in MCGM.

Hope you treat this matter with the seriousness and urgency it deserves.

– A concerned citizen

(GR Vora is a Pathologist by profession. He has been deeply concerned about deteriorating conditions all around – maladministration, misgovernance, corruption, environmental degradation and abuse of power and authority by our public servants and elected representatives. Feeling strongly about all this, Vora wanted to do his bit to bring about a change. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)