BMC panels to keep an eye on gardens

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to form vigilance committees to keep check on its gardens being misused and vandalised by anti-social elements.

The move to form the panels came after an eight-year-old boy, Pravin Rajesh Jamdade, died of injuries at the Juhu garden when a part of a concrete aircraft model fell on him.

In 2005, BMC did a survey of its gardens through all its 24 wards after BJP corporator Mangal Mange demanded that there should be a system to protect the gardens and playgrounds. The information collected revealed that the municipal properties at several places were damaged by anti-social elements. It was found that metal rods from fencing around the gardens and iron nets erected to protect trees were stolen. Water supplied to these gardens too was pilfered, while many corners of these public places were filled with human faeces. Some of them served the purpose of parking vehicles.

Municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak has prepared a detailed report and directed all the wards to form vigilance committees to monitor the standard of the gardens keeping a vigil on them. Assistant commissioner of a ward would head the committee. It would also have the assistant engineer (maintenance) and deputy garden superintendent of the ward and representatives of local NGOs. This committee would check the gardens even if they were leased out on caretaker or adoption basis. Any citizen could complain to the assistant commissioner if the garden was not being maintained well by the caretaker. The committee would recommend repairing of the playing instruments in the gardens, if required.

“If citizens complain about misuse of any garden, we will take appropriate action,” said Phatak.