DNA: Mumbai: Tuesday, June 12, 2018.
The collector
office, which was appointed as the body to take action on misuse of groundwater
across the state is yet to get any responsibility within the city.
As per the
reply under RTI from the collector office of Island city, both the city and
suburban collectors have not been appointed or been given any responsibility by
the state government yet.
The reply
dated May 23, 2018, was given to RTI applicant Sureshkumar Dhoka by collector
office recently.
The state has
already appointed a collector office (across state, except Mumbai) under
provisions of the Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Act,
2009 and order from National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The reply
comes even as the city collector sought guidance from water works department
and later informed the groundwater authority that it does not have officials to
tackle the issue of misuse. It also suggested that the Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) would be in a better position to know about the issue.
Dhoka had
sought information on action taken against wells by the collector office. He
had made similar applications in the past. However, the collector office had
earlier stated that no such information is available with it. Even the BMC had
not acted upon a complaint made by Dhoka.
The applicant
took up the issue of illegal use of groundwater after his son fell ill and was
hospitalised due to unhygienic conditions created by an illegal well in his
office.
CHAIN OF
EVENTS
- Dhoka had sought information on action taken against wells by the collector office
- As per reply under RTI from the collector office of Island city, both city and suburban collectors have not been appointed or given any responsibility by the state government
- Even BMC did not act upon Dhoka’s complaint
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