The main reason for potholes is that roads are dug up by utilities

Thousands of potholes on our roads have become a regular feature every monsoon. Why is a permanent solution eluding the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)?
Mumbai has 1,900 km of roads and 5,000 lane km. A road has several lanes and these add up to 5,000 km. The main reason for the potholes is that the roads are dug up by the utilities. After trenching, the road should be reinstated properly, else the road is damaged. Also, for a while the right variety of sand was not available.

Earlier there was a proposal to have all utilities like electric cables, gas pipelines etc in ducts. Why is ducting, which will obviate the need for excavating the roads, not being introduced? Isn't that the obvious solution?
Ducting is expensive and time-consuming. It calls for coordinated placement of all utilities. We cannot have a live electric cable next to a gas pipeline. I am now in talks with all utilities with a view to coordinate the digging of roads and their resurfacing.

Large players like Larsen and Toubro are unwilling to participate in road contract tenders because of the corruption involved. How do you propose to attract large firms so that Mumbai can get decent roads?
I did invite L&T, Gammon India and other big players to take part in the bidding process, so that sub-standard work can be eliminated permanently. These companies wanted big tender packages of at least Rs.150 crore and I conceded their demand. But they still did not come forward. Maybe they are not used to working on roads which have continuous moving traffic. Or maybe the negotiations involved did not give them the required comfort level. Nevertheless, we will persist in our efforts.

At present, four agencies are involved in road works in Mumbai. Why don't we have a single Mumbai Road Corporation, which can maintain all the roads in the metropolis?
Under the 74th amendment of the Constitution says vide the 12th schedule that all roads are to be under urban local bodies like the BMC. But I would like to point out that I am heading the coordination committee, which is tasked with implementing an integrated road management system. The committee's report is ready and this will be submitted to the state government shortly.

The standing committee, which approves road contracts, appears to be the main culprit. Most parties are in cahoots with each other when it comes to approving large tenders. Can something be done to curb the villainy of this panel?
A: I cannot comment on any committee. For long, I have been debating how one can give quality service to the people through ethically-compromised institutions. In the West, they lay lot of emphasis on ethics. It is time we did that here too. I am in touch with Prabhat Kumar, former cabinet secretary, who has started an ethical movement in public service. We are taking his help and have started sending our staff to Panchgani in this regard.

Q: The solid waste department appears to be letting you down. Garbage pile ups are increasingly becoming common. Why can't private players be roped in a big way to clean up the city?
A: We have already brought in private players for both collection of garbage and management of the dumping grounds. But the private sector is not up to the mark. One of the companies engaged by us is currently embroiled in a dispute between the partners. We are not looking at IT-based applications to tackle the problem. For example, we could have CCTV cameras which could focus on chronic spots where garbage accumulates and take necessary action.

Q: Many Mumbaikars appear to be lacking civic sense. People behave as if it is their birthright to spit and litter. Do you have a specific plan to get them to behave?
A: We do not have Clean Up marshals to keep a watch on violators. But strict enforcement brings in its wake its own problems. I appeal to the citizens and NGOs to help improve civic sense.

Q: The BMC administation often blames paucity of funds for not being able to undertake vital projects. Yet we are witnessing a revenue  loss of Rs 2,000 crores through octroi evasion. Why can't the octroi mafia be neutralised?
A: Octroi is an archaic and physical system of surveying goods and levying tax on them. Invariably there is scope for corruption in such a system. What we need is an accounting-based system like Local Body Tax (LBT) where the underworld will have no role. Also, there will be transparency. Else we will have to spend Rs 700 crore on X-ray scanners, CCTV cameras etc. The sooner we move to the LBT regime, the better for the city.

Q: Ever since you occupied the chair of the commissioner on April 30, 2012 , what have been your three main achievements?
A: Well, I prepared a Vision Document for the city so that all our staffers and citizens share a common vision for the future. Also, I have prepared the development plan for 2014-2034 and a Development Control (DC) regimen to go with it. The plan focusses on the redevelopment of Mumbai as a world-class financial, IT and entertainment hub.  The emphasis will be on inclusive and integrated development so that the poor and marginalised sections too have a stake in the system. The second area on which I focussed was providing water security to Mumbai. We have already secured the state government's approval for building two dams—Pinjal and Gargai in Thane district. Also the Centre is likely to fund the Damanganga-Pinjal water link. The third area was on the coastal road project which is so very vital for Mumbai, especially the western suburbs where the traffic situation is a cause for concern. About 100 hectares of coastal land will need to be reclaimed for this mega project. We have also reformed the taxation system.

The building proposals department of the BMC is the most corrupt wing of the civic body. Builders say that realty prices can be reduced by as much as Rs 2,000 per sq ft if corruption is eliminated from this department. What steps do you propose to take in this regard?
We are making all the development control rules (DCRs)  transparent and providing a level playing ground to all builders. In fact we are going to have auto DCR and e-office concepts so that building plans are virtually processed by factoring in all rules pertaining to CRZ, heritage, height of buildings, reservations etc. The scope for discretion on the part of the staff will be drastically reduced.

We are moving out staffers who have completed their tenure, keeping records digitally and rotating engineers.  Apart from this, the BMC already has a robust SAP system.We are already in talks with Price Waterhouse to have cyber citizen facilitation centres. The whole idea is to migrate to e-governance in a big way.