Mumbai, say NO to concessional life memberships to corporators

Dear friends,

 

As the 2012 elections are nearing, the outgoing municipal corporators want to take as many benefits as possible. A couple of days ago, people became aware that MCGM was considering a proposal to gift all corporators free life memberships of municipal swimming pools and clubs. Then, faced with widespread outrage, they tried to disguise the proposal as part of a wider proposal to benefit senior citizens and children below 14. See today's news item in HT:http://tinyurl.com/No-free-swimming-for-Corpos

 

However, the same corporators are not serious about their own duties! They have been skipping meetings and making flimsy excuses. See this item in today's TOI: http://tinyurl.com/Corporators-neglect

 

We strongly feel that these self-serving tendencies of corporators should be strongly opposed.

Tomorrow, by 4 pm, we plan to dispatch this letter to Shraddha Jadhav and heads of all political parties who are in power in MCGM: http://tinyurl.com/Letter-2-Mayor-oppose-perks

 

If you wish to be a signatory to our letter, please email GR Vora grvora1@gmail.com with the following details:

·         Your name

·         Your email and mobile (optional but recommended)

·         Name of your Municipal ward, and of your corporator

 

This letter is reproduced below for your convenience.

 

Warm Regards,

Krish

98215 88114

DRAFT OF LETTER:

23 November 2011

 

To

Smt. Shraddha Jadhav,

Mayor,

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai,

Mahapalika Marg,

Fort, Mumbai

 

CC to:

Shri Bal Thackeray & Shri Uddhav Thackeray, Heads of Shiv Sena (SS)

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Chief of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Shri Raj Thackeray, Chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)

Smt Sonia Gandhi, Chief of Indian National Congress (INC)

Shri Sharad Pawar, Chief of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

Other party chiefs names to be added before sending

 

Swimming Pool Memberships for City Fathers? NO!

Let them become Accountable first!

 

Madam,

 

We learn with shock and dismay that once again, the municipal corporators whom you lead and represent, are seeking free or concessional life memberships of municipal swimming pools and clubs. As the chances of their being re-elected in 2012 are doubtful, corporators from all parties want to grab maximum benefits. We – the citizens of Mumbai – are disgusted by this move. We condemn the hypocrisy of disguising their greed behind proposed concessions for senior citizens and others.

 

We wish to remind you that Rs. 1.25 crore of public funds have gone into providing expensive laptops to each corporator. But has this resulted in any benefit to the common man? Have laptops made the corporators more efficient or more accessible on emails? Sadly, no.

The corporators have not even given their email ids to people in their constitutency. They are not using the laptops to accept grievances from the public, or stay in touch with their constituency. In most cases, Madam, the children of these corporators must be using these laptops for Facebooking, or they are gathering dust, unused. Where is the accountability for such freebies provided to corporators?

 

Madam, it is well-known that the so-called City Fathers are exploiting this city. They connive with criminal elements and vested interests to encroach on roads, footpaths, recreation grounds and playgrounds (RGPGs) and other reserved plots. The police is unwilling to take action against illegal builders, encroachers of public lands, and tanker lobbies stealing municipal water, because corporators are patronizing them and receiving haftas from them. Many corporators are well known in their areas as shady characters, and their former friends and neighbours are now afraid of them!

 

Madam, it is our experience  that except for their vote banks in the slums, the corporators are not trying to solve their area's problems. They are only using their undue influence and political clout for creating non-issues such as renaming streets and chowks, and spending their development funds in non-productive expenditure such as expensive traffic islands.

 

Let corporators from all parties mend their ways first. We ask them to:

• Repair our broken footpaths
• Remove all encroachments
• Stop associating with goonda elements
• Take steps to make our neighbourhoods clean, safe and walkable
• Become accessible to citizens on a regular basis
• Become transparent in their working.

 

We elected the so-called City Fathers to serve us, and not to exploit us and feather their own nests. So we say: enough privileges for them. Now let them serve the common man!

Yours Sincerely,

(your name & contact, name of ward and name of corporator)