Fresh appeal after 1st turns dud

“There were only two applicants after the first public appeal in Marathi newspapers. There was a demand later that the appeal be made in local as well as English media so that those interested can apply,” said Pravin Ashtikar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner. The PMC had invited applications for three-member teams in seven areas, urban engineering, planning, poverty alleviation, governance, heritage, environment and financial services.

In October, the PMC administration claimed it was finding it difficult to get citizens for CVTC meant for effective implementation of works under JNNURM. PMC claimed the response was poor but many citizens, activists and organisations said they were unaware of such an invitation though they were ready to join. Newsline had highlighted that several citizens groups and activists interested in being part of the city development teams were unaware of the earlier public appeal. They had alleged that the civic body had intended it to reach fewer people.

The second appeal issued two days agok is expected to receive a good response with many people showing interest. “We expect a good response this time as it has been ensured the appeal reaches the maximum people. The application has to be filed in one week,” said Ashtikar.

“We will finalise the list of interested members and send it to the Union government,” Ashtikar said. Satish Khot of the National Society for Clean Cities said they already have a network of volunteers.