In Andheri West, citizens get placards bearing MLA's name removed

In a bid to beautify a few areas in his constituency, Ameet Satam, Andheri MLA from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seems to have gone overboard. After beautifying the road medians in the Andheri West-Juhu areas, Satam installed metal placards mentioning his name with that of a property developer. Local citizens have found this inappropriate, saying that the MLA is "cashing in" on the situation and using public space for the purpose. Following citizens' complaints, the local ward office removed three truckloads of placards from the area on Tuesday.

Rishi Aggarwal, an activist from the area, said that several citizens raised the issue with the local ward office, and it was decided to write a letter to the ward office to seek clarification and action.

But Satam refused to believe that there was any opposition from the residents. "These three roads are under the adoption policy of the BMC. These three roads were given to the developer and he has been allowed to install the metal placards. But the placards were bigger than the permissible size, that is why the ward office removed them," said Satam.

When it was pointed out that residents were upset because the MLA's name appeared with the developer's name on the placards, Satam said, "I was instrumental in the adoption of the roads for beautification. That is why my name was written on the placards."