The ‘outsiders’ are back to generate some heat. However, it is not the usual political suspects raking up the sensitive issue this time around; it’s a government functionary overreaching his brief.

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Swadhin Kshatriya, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner, has blamed the “influx of outsiders” for the mounting environmental woes of the city. In the preface to the report Environment Status of Brihanmumbai 2009-10, the civic body chief says as much.

A few weeks ago, Raj Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief, had courted controversy by holding ‘outsiders’ responsible for the spread of malaria in the city.

Kshatriya elucidated his point, writing, “For example, in the BMC’s ‘A’ ward, every single day 75,000 outsiders are added per sq km. This large number stretches an already over-stretched system to breaking point.”

Confronted with his comment in the report, Kshatriya sought to defend himself. “I am referring to the floating population that comes to South Mumbai and it’s from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) as a whole. This does not refer to migration from other states. The floating population creates pressure on the infrastructure and the environment.”

Asked whether he had done it out of compulsion as he was heading a civic body ruled by the Shiv Sena, which has strong anti-outsider views, he said, “No officer will ever do this. We stay neutral.’’

The Shiv Sena sees Kshatriya’s comment as a vindication of its position on the outsider issue by the government.    

“The commissioner is a state government representative. We have been demanding for decades that the onslaught of the outsiders needs to be stopped, but it was falling on deaf ears. Now, this shows that the state has finally come to agree with what we have been saying,” said Sena leader Sanjay Raut.    

Prakash Binsale, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson, refused to comment on Kshatriya but took the opportunity to attack the Shiv Sena which has ruled the richest civic body in the country for 15 years.

“The Shiv Sena lacks farsightedness. Had they planned the city’s infrastructure properly then there wouldn’t be such a dearth of resources and amenities,” he said.

The Congress chose to downplay Kshatriya’s position. “This is not something about which we should get political. After all, there is a need to understand that Mumbai is packed beyond capacity. We need to arrive at a consensus across the party lines on how to regulate this continuous influx,” party spokesperson Hussain Dalwai said.