Mumbai civic works could face a new resident-level quality check if the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation accepts a proposal to make completion or satisfactory work certificates mandatory before contractors receive final payments for projects in residential areas and public premises.
The proposal has been made by BJP corporator Makarand Narwekar, who represents Cuffe Parade, in a letter to the BMC. He said the proposed certificate should confirm that work was completed according to the approved scope, prescribed quality standards and the satisfaction of local residents.
Narwekar said the system would bring greater transparency and accountability to civic works carried out in residential colonies and public premises. Under the proposal, residents would have a formal role in confirming whether the work delivered on the ground matched what had been approved by the civic administration.
The demand follows complaints about the quality of work in parts of Colaba and Cuffe Parade. Narwekar said ward-level officers were failing to ensure strict compliance with requirements, leaving residents to deal with the consequences of substandard civic work.
“Quality of work executed in many areas of Colaba and Cuffe Parade is not good. Ward-level officers are failing to ensure strict compliance, due to which residents are suffering,” Narwekar said in his letter. He added that a resident certificate was needed to confirm that the work had been completed according to the approved scope, quality standards and the satisfaction of local residents.
The proposal would link the release of a contractor’s final payment to feedback from people living in the area where the work was undertaken. The source report does not state whether the BMC has accepted the proposal, whether it would require changes to existing contracting procedures or how disagreements between residents, contractors and civic officials would be resolved.
Narwekar’s proposal is also connected to his effort to introduce a more resident-driven approach to the use of the corporator’s fund. After being elected from ward 226, he wrote to residents of Cuffe Parade in February inviting suggestions for civic works that could be taken up through the fund.
The proposal therefore places resident participation at two stages: identifying works that communities need and certifying whether completed projects meet the approved requirements. Any formal change would depend on the BMC’s response and on the civic administration establishing the process, authority and documentation required for such certificates.
