महापालिका आर्थिक अडचणीत आहे. आठशे कोटींहून अधिक तातडीची देणी चुकती करायची आहे. दुसरीकडे मालमत्ता कराची थकबाकी शेकडो कोटींमध्ये आहे. ही रक्कम वसूल करण्यासाठी या पूर्वीही महापालिकेने प्रयत्न केले. काही योजनाही राबवल्या. मात्र अपेक्षित यश मिळाले नाही. मुंडे यांनी आयुक्तपदाची सुत्रे स्वीकारल्यावर महापालिकेला आर्थिक शिस्त लावण्यावर भर दिला आहे. काही कामांनाही स्थगिती दिली आहे. आता त्यांनी थकित मालमत्ता कर वसुलीवर अधिक लक्ष केंद्रित केले आहे. आशीनगर झोनमधील वार्ड क्रमांक ४३,५४,५७ मधील सात मालमत्ता धारकांनी कर न भरल्याने त्यांची घरे जप्त करण्यात आली. अशाच प्रकारची कारवाई दोन दुकानांवर करण्यात आली. कर थकवणाऱ्यांच्या घरातील कार, वातानुकूलित यंत्र, कुलर, टीव्ही, बेड तर दुकांमधील धान्य व किराणा साहित्य जप्त करण्यात आले. त्यांना कर भरण्यासाठी १५ दिवसांची मुदत देण्यात आली आहे. कर भरला नाही तर जप्त केलेली मालमत्ता व इतर वस्तूंचा लिलाव करण्यात येईल, असे धरमपेठ झोन कार्यालयाकडून कळवण्यात आले.
महापालिकेत पाच दिवसांचा आठवडा लागू करण्यात आला आहे. त्यामुळे शनिवार (२९ फेब्रुवारी) व रविवारी (१ मार्च) महापालिकेची कार्यालये बंद राहणार असली तरी नागरिकांसाठी झोन कार्यालय व मुख्यालयातही कर भरण्याची व्यवस्था करण्यात आली आहे.
AN AIR of strictness has always followed Tukaram Mundhe in all his administrative postings till date. The changes he seeks in working culture of a particular institution usually puts him on a path of friction with the ruling dispensation. The IAS officer looks at it through the prism of rationale and logic, without caring much about populism. His agenda as Municipal Commissioner at the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), also, is all about accountability and structural revamp. “Accountability is the core of good governance. It is the primary responsibility of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to put a structure that is accountable to its citizens.
My decisions in the last 45 days are based on bringing in a change in the governance structure here as well as financial situation of the civic body,” Mundhe said in an interaction with Editors of city newspapers on Wednesday. The existing structure was classic example of how not to run an organisation. Nobody was responsible for anything and passing the buck was the norm, Mundhe rued while expressing surprise as to how a big organisation like NMC worked without proper hierarchy and fixed accountability for such a long time. “I tried to streamline the structure with responsibility fixed for each department. This will end the chaotic situation,” he hoped with a sense of confidence.
Mundhe’s decisions, aimed at seeking financial discipline in NMC following huge liabilities, have been questioned by the public representatives in the general body meeting. He put forth reasons behind the austerity measures while presenting his own side of the story. “Please show me the ongoing works which I have stopped. There is not a single ongoing project that will be affected. I have stopped execution of new works approved by the office-bearers by adopting a system of expenditure at par with the revenue. There is no point in starting projects with no clarity of funds for its execution,” Mundhe said. “I will work within statutory framework and will not buckle under pressure to please anyone,” he asserted. On the delay in presentation of Budget, Mundhe stated he was working on many details hitherto missing in Budget documents presented by the civic body. “If you see Budgets after 2011-12, there are vague demands which make allocation of funds under one head quite difficult.
I will present the Budget soon with proper changes,” Mundhe said. The Commissioner will also launch a new app soon to redress people’s grievances. It will be an interactive platform where citizens can lodge their complaints which will be automatically forwarded to the respective departments. Civic amenities like encroachment removal, garbage lifting, water supply will be streamlined through the app, Mundhe said adding that accountability will be fixed on the official. “The official will have to give a satisfactory reply within 24 hours failing which it will be escalated to the next level. The users will have the option to rate the service. This feedback will be counted in the ACR of the officer,” he said.
Mundhe blamed the lack of funds in the corporation coffers on faulty implementation of tax collection by the NMC officials. “There is a huge deficit but no concrete step was taken to resolve the issue. There are solutions for each problem, one needs to work with the mindset of solving it,” he stated. Citing example of water supply in Aashinagar Zone, Mundhe said with a crackdown on illegal connections, water flow in the area has increased to eight hours from the earlier one hour. There is no complaint of contamination now, he added. The much-talked Nag River rejuvenation plan, too, is on the agenda. NMC will put treated water in Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) back into the river to address the problem of sewage. “A number of STPs are planned at various points.
Treated water will also solve the problem of sewage being dumped in Wainganga by Nagpur city,” Mundhe said. Making his priorities clear, the Commissioner said sewage was on top of his agenda than cement roads. “It is good to have cement roads. But what use are those if sewage accumulates on the roads,” he questioned even as he pointed towards the lack of knowledge in the corporation about sewage system of the city. “Nagpur has a great potential to emerge as a great city, but we must set our priorities right,” Mundhe said.
