Recently citizens of Bhopal faced problems due to incessant and torrential rains. This caused flooding in several parts of the city and failure of sewerage system, obstacles in transportation, failure of water and electric supply.
Subsequently, BMC Commissioner admitted that BMC lacks resources and infrastructure to deal with the situation. She further said that if it rains again, BMC will fail again. This statement was endorsed by the Mayor. In order to discuss the situation of public interest, NCHSE Environment Helpline convened a meeting today.
In the meeting , Nirmala Buch, Chairperson of NCHSE said that BMC should focus on its activities to provide municipal civic services, eg drinking water, sewerage and waste disposal, street lights, etc which are their main responsibility and no one else. According to Municipal Act, the main responsibilities of BMC sanitation, maintenance of sewage, public utility, construction of road and culverts within city area, public toilets, drainage system, drinking water, fire brigade and security of lives and property.
Therefore, BMC should ensure performance of municipal functions first and use their resources to implement these works as per their responsibility. Then the crisis of suffering due to sewage, nallahs over flowing would not have happened. BMC does not have the capacity to implement the projects like Smart city and Metro rail service. These projects should be handed over to other agencies having expertise.
Many participants endorsed the view that cleaning of nallahs must be done before rains, and citizens should be encouraged to monitor this activity as well as demand for basic services.
Citizens expressed their views on the situation emerged due to heavy rains in their areas. They said that it was not a natural calamity but due to unplanned city planning of Bhopal and incompetence of BMC. Citizens reacted sharply to the statements of BMC Commissioner admitting the inefficiency of BMC. In the meeting it was unanimously decided that citizens should watch development in their areas and in case of violation like encroachment of public places, and drains, wrong constructions etc and inform the same to Environment Helpline, which in turn would take appropriate action to inform the authorities for action.
It was also decided to request government to ask BMC to identify the problem areas affected now and to take preventive action before next monsoon. BMC should follow the buffer zone along the nallahs where should be no construction e.g. 3 meters, 9 meters and 15meters from small to big nallahs as per the Bhopal Master Plan. It was also expressed that though the city has Disaster Management Institute it has not played any role to reduce human misery. In case of encroachment and illegal construction over natural drainage, both the parties that are personnel responsible for granting permission as well as the person who violated the rules be punished.