BMC to dedicate 2005 to a clean Mumbai

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to dedicate 2005 as the year of cleanliness and announce a slew of civic initiatives aimed at keeping Mumbai a clean city even as state government agencies are simultaneously undertaking major infrastructure projects in the metropolis.

According to state government officials, the cleanliness drive is the sequel to Congress chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's demolition drive initiated this year for curbing unscrupulous proliferation of slums in Mumbai with the cut off date being 1995.

The demolition drive has so far resulted in excess of 50,000 illegal slum houses being razed in 2005.

While Deshmukh is keen not to be seen as interfering in the affairs of the BMC, civic chief Johnny Joseph is believed to have been instructed to formulate a slew of initiatives under the cleanliness drive which may be announced on the Republic Day.

The state government wants the political parties""Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena"" which rule the BMC join the initiative. Deshmukh is laying the ground for the civic elections slated for mid-2006 and hopes to consolidate the Congress position in the BMC. The party has around 100 elected corporators to 126 of the Shiv Sena and 35 odd of the BJP.

According to secretariat sources, the cleanliness drive is sought to be linked to the Mumbai vision plan seeking to transform the city into a world class metropolis.

"The BMC, it is hoped, will come out with a proposal on a sustained cleanliness project for the city which will result in the strategic construction of public toilet systems, anti-spitting initiatives and other cleanliness initiatives sustained throughout the year and further," the official said.

He added, "We need to understand the cultural re-engineering to be inculcated among citizens who do not think twice before spitting on streets in Mumbai. These same persons, when abroad are more circumspect and respect local laws which prevent spitting and littering on streets abroad. As far as constructing public toilets is concerned, we have to understand that many slumdwellers to not have access to an adequate number of toilets and are often forced to use public places."

Attempts to contact civic chief Joseph were unsuccessful as he was stated to be in meetings.