Batting for accountability of officials in the field, Standing Committee of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Friday asked the administration to direct all engineers to visit ongoing construction sites and submit longitude and latitude data before forwarding projects bills for clearance. The directive from Chairperson Shivani Dani-Wakhre came to address the need for better control and supervision, stemming from post development complaints as to sub-standard or poor quality works plus shortcoming that cannot be addressed at later stage, particularly in respect of concrete roads. Interacting with newspersons post meeting at NMC Headquarters, Wakhre said, for Standing Committee it was a wonder as to why Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) failed to leverage technology for better monitoring of ongoing projects. The topic came-up for discussion as many complaints about cracks and other issues regarding cement roads are surfacing on social media and we realised that there is absence of control on the part of administration during the construction phase.

 

Why only the elected office-bearers face the music, what about accountability of administrative officials? Therefore, it is made mandatory for engineers to submit their visit details of each project and post verification the bills would be settled. Incidentally, NMC has the requisite technology for such monitoring but same was not being used, which was quite a surprise. Rental machinery use monitoring: The Standing Committee also put in a specific clause as to monitoring of machinery taken on rent for various purpose by NMC, as it smelled a rat while discussing a bill submitted by Mechanical Branch. Explaining the decision, Chairperson Wakhre said that henceforth the officials were instructed to also submit information as to log in and log out, as it becomes necessary to go for microscopic examination as some justification defies logic.

 

The item was about deployment of some machines in Dharampeth Zone for collection of fallen leaves and branches. The financial body was examining bill of Rs 53,14,28 and members got curious about the work and hence wanted more comprehensive monitoring on ground. Wakhre said the Mechanical Department was instructed to mention hours for which the machine worked, the time of starting the working and its closure time, to prevent any malpractices. Nearly 8 unit of 16 Cum capacity open Tipper and 2 vehicles of 76 HP backhoe-loader. Covering open wells: The finance body also accepted proposal to cover all open wells in the city. Two proposal were table, one from Dharampeth Zone and other from Laxminagar Zone seeking funds for desilting, basic repairs and affixing iron grills.

 

The Chairperson said the administration was also directed to monitor the quality of drinking water and in case at any places there is gushing of sewage water then minor rectification measures be taken. One month’s contract: Another major decision taken in the meeting on Friday was related to hiring of specialised personnel by NMC. Frowning upon proposal coming every six month for renewal, the Standing Committee directed the administration to go for 11-month contract period. This way the person’s work can be monitored effectively and will provide work stability.