Senior Deputy Mayor Parveen Bansal speaks his mind. Recently, Bansal and a few councillors raised their voice against a controversial tender policy of the government, despite being partners in the ruling regime.
In a chat with Raakhi Jaggathe senior deputy mayor talks about his plans for the city

You opposed the tender policy framed for the major projects of city. Does that mean your allies (the state government) wanted to favour big contractors?
I am a part of the government but that does not mean that I should keep silent on the merits or demerits of all its policies.

According to the new policy, the projects were to be awarded to only those contractors who had a budget of Rs 25 crore. This was not acceptable to us as it would have favoured the big fish and delayed the projects as well — one contractor cannot do justice to projects worth Rs 25 crore.

After our opposition, the policy was changed to allot projects on a single-tender basis.

You have been nicknamed the “Mouthpiece of the Mayor’ because you frequently speak on his behalf. Do you agree?
I don’t agree with this statement at all. At times, the mayor is busy and I may clarify an issue on his behalf. But otherwise he knows his subjects well.

Corruption is a part of the Municipal Corporation’s day-to-day working. It is impossible for a common man to even get an official’s signature on a form without greasing his palm. Even under your rule, nothing has changed.
There is no doubt that corruption is rampant in almost every department of the corporation.

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