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Thane government has dismal development record Politicians Are Busy Making Poll Promises, But Only 9% Of Civic Body's Development Plan Has Been Acted On Milind Ballal I TNN Thane: With the Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC) fifth civic elections less than a week away, all political parties have been harping on about developing the city. However, the bitter truth is that the TMC has failed miserably in implementing its own Development Plan (DP), which has been literally gathering dust for years. An examination of the plan by TOI has revealed that only 67 of 804 plots earmarked for development have been actually developed. That's a sorry 8.3%. If 115 of those plots are subtracted, since they fall in the Coastal Regulation Zone, that still means only 9.7% of the DP has been implemented. The DP had received Mantralaya's nod in 2003. The earlier plan, the Town Planning Scheme (TPS), on which the DP was based, came into being in 1976. Aside from the non-development of plots, there has been encroachment on plots reserved for public amenities. The number of slums has also risen from 78 in 1976 to 199 presently. A closer look at the DP reveals a dismal report card. Only seven of 73 plots reserved for gardens were developed. The corresponding figures for playgrounds, recreation grounds and open spaces are seven of 73, eight of 54 and one of 33, respectively. The DP also has provisions for truck terminals (four), dumping grounds (three) and parking plazas (31), but not a single one of these have come into being as yet. Officials have also admitted that 149 of the 804 plots have been encroached upon. The total outlay for implementing the DP was pegged at around Rs 1,200 crore. Most of the component included the acquisition costs. The TMC, formed in 1982, has an annual budget of about Rs 600 crore. Thane's first development document was the TPS, which was prepared in 1976 and was in place until the TMC was formed in 1982. A draft DP was then prepared using the TPS as the base. However, by then the cost of land in Thane had skyrocketed due to the real estate boom and the DP kept making to and fro trips between Thane and Mantralaya as plots kept being dereserved. The Mantralaya nod finally came in 2003. "Normally, a DP has to be put in motion within three years of coming into existence. Considering that, the TPS should have been initiated in 1986 and executed by 2001,'' said Thane activist Manohar Panshikar, who has been painstakingly working for the DP's implementation. "Had they given proper attention to the DP, the city would have been free of traffic congestions,'' said activist Nitin Deshpande. He cited the example of the Old Station Road, which on paper is shown as 50 feet wide, but hawkers have reduced it to not more than 20 feet. "The road, if made encroachmentfree, can be made open to vehicular traffic, thereby reducing the burden on Shivaji Road,'' said Vijay Daptardar, who recently took out a morcha against the hawkers. "The corporators are making tall claims of development, but they have failed to take care of small things envisaged in the TPS,'' lamented Sudhakar Bakshi, a citizen's forum member. Panshikar came down heavily on corporators who have failed to check unplanned expenditure. "Where was the need to spend Rs 25 crore on the Mumbra-Reti Bunder road, when it is owned by the National Highway Authority?'' he asked. Citizens here appreciate the good work done by former municipal commissioner T Chandrasekhar. "He gave a new lease of life to a city that was choking to death,'' said Shobhna Subhedar, a Thane (East) resident. However, a majority of the population is unhappy with the civic fathers' performance. "They do not have vision. They are more busy serving their own interests,'' noted one senior citizen who shifted to Thane after the widely appreciated practice of roadwidening. He is, however, disillusioned by the performances of the administration and corporators. "Why are they speaking of a Vision 2020 document when they cannot look beyond tomorrow?'' was his acerbic comment. "The candidates will once again come to the voters' doorsteps and promise mega projects. But the fact is that they do not have the political will to implement them,'' said advocate Prashant Panchakshri. Voicing the same concern, Panshikar added, "There is no need of any separate manifesto. Just implement the DP and the taxpayers will be more than happy.'' THE OTHER THANE While civic development has been poor, Thane has ironically won many accolades for other forms of development in the recent past. This is mainly due to the real estate boom that arose after the satellite town of Mumbai began to be touted as 'destination next' while its saturated neighbour became impossibly burdened with a huge influx of people. Wide roads, sprawling mega-housing projects, lakes and an enviable view of the Yeoor Hills have added to Thane's USP. Fast facts Thane has 9.1 lakh voters The total population is 17 lakh 50% live in slums There are 116 election wards Thane has been a Shiv Sena bastion since its council days WATER MARK: The TMC has spent a lot of money on developing the area around Masunda Lake. In fact, the Shiv Sena in Thane, which has been the party's bastion since its council days, has had development near Masunda as a major plank before civic polls. Same is the case this time, too. However, many playgrounds, recreation grounds and open spaces listed in the development plan are awaiting the local administration's attention URL : http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA3LzAxLzI5I0FyMDEwMDA=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom |
| Also see : Locality News |
