Wrong to criticise BMC without giving it ample powers: Uddhav

On repeated flooding during monsoons,Thackeray blamed lack of cooperation from other government agencies. “The airport nullah flowing beneath the runway is not being widened by the Airports Authority of India. Similarly,the stretch of Mithi river,which is the narrowest and with maximum encroachment along the sides,has been given to the BMC while the wider and easier part is with the MMRDA,” he said.

Thackeray’s house Matoshree is known to get flooded during monsoon. “Mumbai is below the mean sea level and some parts like Kalanagar,where we live,have ended up like saucers. We rule the BMC but our own house gets flooded and we can do nothing to avoid it,” he said. Talking about indefinite delays in major civic projects,Thackeray said often encroachments are on non-BMC land. “If we have to clear encroachments on the collector’s land,it requires a series of permissions and thus the delay,” he said. He added that the mayor should have more powers and having an elected mayor is a good idea for a city like Mumbai.

Asked about the poor condition of roads in the city and the same set of contractors — many of whom have been blacklisted earlier by the civic body — Thackeray said the administration is to be blamed for it. “Corporators do not issue road contracts,the BMC administration does it. As far as the buzz about corruption in the recently awarded roads contracts is concerned,the very able state-appointed Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar said there is nothing illegal in the way they were awarded,” he said.

Meanwhile,Thackeray said the party is undeterred by the reservation of 50 per cent of BMC wards for women that has caused many senior Sena leaders in the BMC to lose the wards where they have worked over the past five years. “This is not the first time that a senior Sena corporator has lost his ward. In fact,Sena is the only party that has very strong women corporators and a strong women’s wing. With the coalition between Sena,BJP and RPI,we are sure that we will come back to power in the BMC,” he said.