Congress accuses mayor, NMMC for garbage mess

Navi Mumbai Congress on Wednesday refused to take any blame and instead accused the civic administration and the ruling party in the corporation, including mayor Sagar Naik, for going slow on garbage collection and transportation proposal. The proposal was tabled during the general body meeting on Wednesday.

"We had brought the matter to the notice of the House and it was because of our efforts that the administration and rulers were forced to bring the rates down. We still feel that tenders should be called separately for eight administrative divisions of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, so that we get competitive price," said Vashi corporator and president of Navi Mumbai district Congress, Dashrath Bhagat.

He added, "In other civic bodies in Maharashtra, there is a culture of taking opposition into confidence before taking any decision, but that is not the case here."

NCP corporator from Vashi, Bharat Nakhate, scotched this claim made by Bhagat. He said, "Every party leader was called for a meeting by Naik, but representatives from Congress refused to attend it. There is no point in blaming now."

Meanwhile, another Congress corporator, Namdeo Bhagat, blamed the administration and mayor for giving the bulky agenda on garbage proposal at the last moment. "Do you expect us to study the proposal now and speak on the subject? You should have given it to us in advance," he said.