The Times of India               22.01.2014

Projects worth Rs 110cr to be tabled at civic meeting

NAVI MUMBAI: Several projects have been listed for today's Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) general body (GB) meeting. Sources said the works are worth Rs 110 crore, but opposition leader Dilip Ghodekar from Shiv Sena described them as 'politically motivated'. "The work should have been taken up earlier. The civic chief had asked for 78 proposals, but the mayor approved 57," said Ghodekar.

The mayor said, "I inspected before taking a call. The works include footpaths, gutters and roads. Approval for more works would be sought at the next GB meeting on February 7."

Opposition corporators believe the impending announcement of Lok Sabha elections and the model code of conduct would prevent decision making for many projects. "Why were the works ignored for so long and decisions being taken on the eve of poll?" asked an opposition corporator.

A civic official said, "The approval is part of the current fiscal budget and the works could be taken up later after the due process of tendering. The budget for 2014-2015 would be tabled before February 28."