One sub-engineer has been designated for each of the 227 civic electoral wards, and each of them is responsible for fixing potholes, in order to respond to concerns about potholes more quickly during the rainy season.
The BMC used to nominate one engineer for each of the 24 civic administrative wards, however, this is a change from that practice. This time, the city has been divided into 227 more manageable pieces, with a sub-engineer placed in each unit.
According to a circular released last week, the responsibility for efficient execution has been entrusted to the ward officers.
The notification was issued by the civic organisation in a circular on June 15. According to the circular, a list of these engineers has been assigned to each ward, and it is the assistant municipal commissioner of that ward who is in charge of overseeing the continuing work.
The circular stated that the BMC has designated sub-engineers to address complaints about potholes in all 227 electoral wards. The list and the phone number had previously been published and distributed, according to the circular.
The potholes’ work must be overseen by the ward assistant municipal commissioner in order to have effective control over them.
Nikhil Desai, a King’s Circle resident and activist, praised the decision. He explained that at least, as citizens, now people know whom to take a complaint to but he also expressed doubt about the engineers’ technological ability to patch potholes. Desai noted that no pothole-filling mixture has yet been successful in resolving the issue of potholes on Mumbai’s roads.
According to Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh, as many roads are being concreted or have already been concreted, the problem of potholes shouldn’t exist. The responsibility for maintaining roads that are being realised and for which work orders have been issued falls to BMC-appointed contractors.
Eknath Shinde, the chief minister, had announced the completion of all roads in July of the previous year. Although it would take two years to complete, work orders for the execution of roads were just issued in the beginning of this year.