Key policies await new civic chief Praveen Pardeshi's nod

After pacifying engineer's agitation and then Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST)'s long pending issues, the new commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has to take decisions on crucial pending policies like parking policy, hawker's policy, hoarding policy which will impact commoner's life in some or the other way. Though the policies and paperwork of implementation were ready in the tenure of the former commissioner, the implementation needs to be strong administrative will power.

There are several big projects and policies in BMC which are in the making for several years and in the tenure of several officers. Development Plan, Coastal Road, Goregaon Mulund Link Road, waste processing unit are some of the projects which take several years for completion. But there are some policies which are already ready and waiting for the final nod from the commissioner for a year. As the new commissioner, Praveen Pardeshi has taken charge and resolved the engineer's issue on the second day and the BEST funding issue on the third day, now the pending policies may see a day of light. "Not only policies but several big projects like sewerage treatment plant, coastal road, dumping disposal project are stuck on a various level and they may get clear in the new commissioner's tenure," said an officer from the BMC.

"Looking at the working style of the new commissioner, we hope many policies will be implemented soon. It will improve BMC's negative image in the citizen's mind," said Anil Galgali, activist.

Hawkers policy:

The survey of hawkers was initiated in 2014 after the Supreme Court passed an order in 2013 for implementation of the national hawkers' policy, 2009. In the city, 99,437 hawkers submitted registration forms out of which only five thousand were able to submit the domicile certificate. The BMC also selected 22 thousand pitches across the city. Now the last step has to be taken but residents are opposing the pitches in their vicinity and even hawkers will not be ready to move from their established space.

Parking Policy:

The policy approved in 2015 and implemented on a pilot basis in A ward. The parking policy involves a system of differential rates depending on how crowded an area is creating a database of on-street and off-street public parking lots, traffic density at the ward level. Resident associations of A Ward approached the Chief Minister who put stay on it and then lifted the stay in January 2017. But the policy stayed on paper only

Hoarding Policy:

The previous policy expired in January 2018 and draft of Policy Guidelines for Display of Advertisement is ready in 2018 itself. The hoarding policy will promote digitization of billboards which will showcase many advertisements on the same place and even display warnings from BMC in natural calamities. Up till now there are different kind of rates as per location and illuminated – non-illuminated boards. But there will be uniformity in rates throughout the city.