Will Chandivli’s 20-point manifesto spark real change?

Chandivli residents have come up with a 20point manifesto and invited candidates contesting the Assembly election from their constituency to discuss their wish list in an open forum On their list is a 90foot road connecting Chandivli to Andheri midday has been highlighting the residentsrsquo longstanding demand that the stretch which was planned 30 years ago be constructed and its reportage even prompted the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission to initiate sou motu action and pull up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC earlier this yearThe key candidates contesting the Chandivli Assembly seat are Congress exMLA Naseem Khan incumbent Shinde Sena MLA Dilip Lande and MNSrsquos Mahendra BhanushaliMNS candidate Mahendra Bhanushali met Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association members on ThursdayBhanushali met with residents on Thursday while Khan met them last weekMandeep Singh Makkar founder of the Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association CCWA said ldquoWe have a 20point citizen manifesto These are all local issues and we invited candidates to place our points before them and share viewsrdquoA Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association meetingldquoUnfortunately in Chandivli discussions about issues and development have taken a backseat Our demands include halting illegal furnaces and readymix plants and stopping the political encroachment of public spaces The involvement of citizens in use of such spaces should be mandatoryrdquo he addedldquoOther important issues include a fully functional fire station in the area The mini fire station situated on Chandivli Farm Road in the vicinity of highrises is ineffective A permanent solution is needed for illegal parking DP Road No 9 in Powai is also shoddyrdquo he saidChandivli residents sat on a hunger strike demanding that the BMC build the 90foot road in August last year File picSatej ShindeThe citizensrsquo manifesto also includes the construction of a 90foot DP Road connecting ChandivliAndheri to the JogeshwarindashVikhroli Link Road JVLR Chandivli residents have long been demanding this stretch to decongest the area which is currently dependent on two routesmdashChandivli Farm Road and DP Road No 9 both of which are choked as traffic had increased after the corporation granted permissions to build residential and commercial towers in the area over the past decade The 90foot road would connect Saki Naka to the JVLR via Chandivli Farm RoadIn 2021 the BMC only built onethird of the 600metrelong road where currently twowheelers trucks and garbage dumpers are parked The land through which the rest of the road is supposed to pass belongs to two partiesmdasha private developer and a Central government corporationmdashbut it is being occupied by encroachers The CCWA went on a hunger strike on August 20 after no steps were taken by the corporation in the previous six months despite assurancesTop six demands1 MLA should respect the public mandate and not switch parties after the election2 Stop misuse of public funds in free distributions like cookers sarees and other freebies3 Include the BMC within the scope of the state governmentrsquos online RTI system4 Cap private school fees and hospital charges5 Stop political encroachment of public spaces and amenities under the guise of public libraries etc6 Clamp down on air and noise pollution and make the constituency pedestrianfirstThe Chandivli citizensrsquo manifestol MLAs should respect the public mandate and not switch political parties after electionsl Ensure electricity is affordablel Stop the misuse of public and BMC funds which are used for freebiesl Effectively implement the Right to Public Services Act and the Right to Information Actl Include the BMC within the scope of the state governmentrsquos online RTI systeml Put a cap on private school fees and hospital chargesl Stop political encroachment on public spaces and amenities under the guise of public libraries public participation should be mandatory in deciding the use of public placesl Set up a sports centre with advanced amenities for Chandivli and Powail Resolve traffic congestion and widen existing roads Construct 90foot road connecting AndheriChandivli to JVLRl Stop air pollution from illegal bhattis furnaces and readymix cement plantsl Build fully functional fire station at Chandivli and Powail Act against illegal hoardingsl Implement pedestrian first policy Remove encroachments Stop usage of gas cylinders on footpathsl Stop open dumping of garbagel Abolish or correct GST levied on cooperative housing societiesl Effectively deal with nonmaintenance of public gardens and encroachment of open spacesl Provide a permanent solution to the problem of illegal parking of heavy vehicles near residential areasl Effectively deal with noise pollutionl Correct shoddy road concreting workl Representatives must always be accessible to Chandivli citizensCandidatespeakNaseem Khan CongressldquoYes I have been interacting with and meeting residents to include all their issues for the past three months I have taken suggestions from all citizen forums societies and residents The Chandivli constituency has become a hotbed of corruption and we need to save the area We need to focus on citizen issues and several of them are pending I have drawn up a special manifesto for Chandivli which includes several points like streamlined conveyance process Mithi river cleanup construction of DP Road basic amenities in chawls and hilly areas traffic solutions making Chandivli drugfree fasttracking MHADA redevelopment and SRA projects among othersrdquoMahendra Bhanushali MNSldquoI met the residents and have noted their demands Both the candidates have clearly not done any work in the area and my vision will be to remain focussed on citizensrsquo issues Take the case of DP Road for example Good wide roads have been built in the areas of elected representatives but not where required We need to change this and I will work for citizensrdquoDilip Bhausaheb Mama Lande Shinde SenaDilip Bhausaheb Mama Lande Shinde SenaMultiple attempts to contact the sitting MLA failed Several mobile numbers listed in his election affidavit are of his office or his credit society which is used for public relations While someone named Thorat picked up one of his numbers and stated that it would be difficult to contact him since he was busy his office said he was in the ldquowar roomrdquo and gave a few more mobile numbers which also went unanswered Calls and a message sent to Landersquos son Prayagrsquos number went unanswered bypress timeEC orders probe into videoThe Election Commission has ordered an inquiry into an alleged inflammatory video made by Sagar TulaskarUp Vibhaag Pramukh of Chandivli and a supporter of Lande A complaint by the chief polling agent of the MVA candidate submitted with evidence and videos had alleged an ldquointention of attempting to tarnish the public image of Naseem Khanrdquo by creating enmity on religious grounds The Election Commission has ordered to examine the evidence and initiate appropriate action if found true