Mumbai: Here’s an opportunity for ordinary citizens to contribute to the upkeep of public spaces like gardens, municipal markets, railway and police stations in one’s area.

Nominations forms for the first Clean-Up awards, slated for May 1, provide citizens with an opportunity to rate these facilities. The forms are now available with local ward offices.

The awards will be given in 19 categories including the cleanest municipal market, hospital, garden, police station, railway station and administrative ward in the city.

There is also an award for the best maintained building/ colony in the city, which will be given on the basis of initiatives taken in the waste disposal, cleanliness and beautification of the building. Corporate players will also be rated for their social responsibility.  The last day for filling the nomination forms is March 31.

All that any citizen in each ward needs to do is go to the ward office, pick up the form and give his or her nomination of what he or she think is the best (cleanest) in each category, point out drawbacks in the maintenance of public services/ spaces.

For example, citizens can rate the waste collection initiatives, methodology and factors causing public nuisance at municipal markets, railways and police stations. Disposal of bio-medical waste in hospitals, will form the selection criteria for the hospital.

Ajay Govale, Programme Manager, United Way, which is monitoring the Clean Up drive, said, “The forms could be submitted to the ward office. The entries will be shortlisted by an independent jury comprising representatives from NGOs and advance locality management groups, civic officials and the corporate industry.”

An inquiry into allegations of bribes collected by clean up marshals from shop owners from Santa Cruz has yielded nothing. BMC initiated the inquiry after receiving an anonymous letter claiming that marshals of TRIG security agency appointed by the BMC were collecting monthly bribes from shopkeepers. 

Source : DNA