May 12: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's, ambitious KhoobSurat Mumbai drive is in danger of running aground. Angered by the four-fold increase in water charges, wheel taxes and education cess, citizens are refusing to onate for the purchase of much-needed litterbins and spittoons.

V K Shankar Narayan, chairperson of the Meghal Industrial Estate in the T ward of Mulund and vice-president of the Federation of Bombay Small Industries Association, has written to the municipal commissioner criticising the ever-spiralling costs of what he called poor services provided by the BMC. He told Express Newsline, ``It is not that we do not donate to such causes, but the four-fold hike in water charges (from 60 paise per 1,000 litres, the BMC's standing committee has approved a slab-wise increase in the water charge to the lowest of Re 1 for the slum-dweller and the highest of Rs 2.60 for high-rises), an already high charge for commercial users, the increase in education cess, etc makes one rethink.''

And "despite paying through the nose" for these services, he complained, the returns were pathetic. ``The storm-water drains are overflowing in my ward, the mosquito menace is unabated and the number of stray dogs continues to increase,'' Narayan said.

On May 6, he had received a circular from the ward officer seeking Rs 950 per litterbin. The circular said, ``As per the directives of our higher authorities, this office has taken up the programme of providing litterbins at conspicuous places.'' It added that the cheque for the amount should be made in the name of Messrs H V Industries.

Narayan said he had wondered why he should send the amount to another party. ``If they want a donation, I am ready to pay them, but why should I send it to some other company? It is not that we have not paid. In 1994, during the plague scare, we provided hand-gloves to the conservancy department within 48 hours. But how long can we be squeezed?'' he questioned. But a senior ward official in the T ward denied that the letter was a compulsion. He said it was only an appeal. ``If people do not contribute for the city, who will?'' he asked. He said Mulund needed to be clean as it was the first suburb encountered while entering Mumbai. Around 86 litterbins were needed to maintain it.

Appeals like this have been made to almost all industrial houses in the entire city by additional municipal commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad. ``We need around 20,000 litterbins to be placed in many parts of the city,'' said chief engineer of the solid-waste management department M R Shah. He admitted that ward officials were following up the appeals with local businessmen and claimed that prospective donors were being asked to pay directly to companies providing the bins so as to reduce paperwork.``We recommended the companies to our ward officers after discussing the rates with them. The rates are high, between Rs 830 to Rs 950 for bins with a volume of 16 cu.cm. But we realised that companies quoting lower rates might not deliver according to our specifications,'' he explained.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.