BOMBAY, 21 May 2006 — With the official announcement that the pre-monsoon work will not be completed by May-end and the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Mithi River Development and Protection Authority having informed the Bombay High Court that they will not be able to excavate silt from the Mithi River before May end, this has put the Maharashtra government in a fix.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has taken the delay seriously and has decided to take a drastic step. Deshmukh said the facts were true and he has told the agencies either to complete work before the deadline or stop it after bringing it to a convenient safety level, which means that incomplete work should not affect commuting people or cause flooding during monsoon.
Asked when action would be taken, as monsoon is to set in Bombay in next few days, Deshmukh said that next week the government is convening a meeting of all concerned agencies including the Central and Western Railways, Airport Authority of India, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, Disaster Management Authority, the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, which will take stock of the situation. All undergoing projects will be minutely reviewed and a final decision will be taken.
The chief minister warned that officials in important positions who fail to deliver and breached the deadline will be punished. "No one will be spared, irrespective of how senior or important the person is," he said.
Asked how he would see himself before monsoon, Deshmukh said that this year, too, he will personally supervise work needed to avoid a repeat of 26/7 and would personally visit the Mithi areas along with officials.
Replying to another question, whether this year's monsoon will be good or bad for the Bombayites, Deshmukh assured the people of Bombay that this time the government would not be found napping, but will witness overall preparedness not only in the city but in the state too as compared to last years and there is no need for the people to worry, he concluded.
