MUMBAI: Facing mounting criticism over repeated excavation of roads for laying and repairing utility lines, the BMC has approved a new trenching policy aimed at minimising road digging and making utility agencies more accountable for restoring the roads they dig up.
The policy was approved by municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide this week, and is expected to be placed before the general body in the coming days.
Once a duct is installed for the specified utilities, further trenching for the same services will not be permitted. The move to allow private utility agencies to undertake road reinstatement has raised concerns. “If the agencies fail to reinstate the road as per the required quality, fixing accountability will be difficult. This policy should have been opened for public consultation before being cleared. However, a representative of a utility agency which does many trenching works welcomed the policy, saying it would make agencies more directly accountable. “People used to blame the utility agency for the work and the BMC for not reinstating the road. Now, as the brand value of utility agencies will be at stake, the policy will make us more accountable.”
Where a duct is not already available, the utility agency will have to build it themself; if they don’t, the BMC will do, a senior official said. “The BMC is trying to outsource its work,” said TrivanKumar Karnani, founder of the Mumbai North Central District Forum. “Earlier there used to be buck-passing,” he said.
