Sitaram Kunte hits the road to check civic work

With an approach to change the image of the city and increase its face value, municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte has started taking stock of the ongoing projects by personally going out on the streets.

"The municipal commissioner has been going to different zones of the city and taking stock of the projects. He has been looking at the work being done on roads, drains, gardens, footpaths and also that of tree-trimming and cleanliness in slums. He has set benchmarks for each department," said a senior civic official.

On Friday, Kunte took rounds in Zone VII (Dahisar, Borivli and Kandivli) and expressed that there was more scope of improvement in the work done. "When it comes to inspecting road work, it's just not the condition of the roads that the commissioner is taking into account. He includes all aspects, such as potholes, debris and silt lying on the road, broken footpaths, popped out paver blocks, condition of medians and painting of dividers, tree-trimming etc., which attribute to the beauty of the roads," said Ranjit Dhakane, deputy municipal commissioner of Zone VII.

Dhakane informed that the commissioner wants all roads to look like VIP roads or like the roads around Mantralaya and other important buildings in the city.

Dhakane said although Kunte was satisfied with the work done in his ward, the commissioner suggested that there was more scope to improve. "He has suggested that there should be more greenery in the wards, especially in the gardens. There will be special funds for such improvement," he said.