NAVI MUMBAI: On the 30th anniversary of NMMC, commissioner Abhijit Bangar said that citizens must not casually hope that Covid will soon go away as everyone has to work together and take precautions to ensure minimal damage to public health.
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation was established on January 1, 1992, with Sanjeev Naik being its first mayor.
Speaking on the occasion on Saturday at the NMMC head-office in Belapur, Bangar said that there is tremendous scope of improvement in dealing with encroachments and illegal structures in the city, besides hawker-related issues.
He also pointed out that a professional approach has to be maintained by all civic employees while doing their duties. He gave a recent example of how a citizen informed him that the NMMC website was down for three days, so an online complaint could not be lodged.
Bangar also praised the frontline health workers who are risking their safety to help Covid-affected people.
Towards the end of the event, all NMMC staff took an oath to protect the environment and make the city cleaner and greener, while reducing pollution.
Welcoming the pro-environment stand taken by the civic body, the city green activists have also urged the NMMC to take over the custody of Talawe and NRI wetland sites so that the intertidal water flow is smoothly allowed.
"We are happy that all the NMMC employees including the commissioner have taken the oath to protect the environment. I would like to request the NMMC to remove all blockages at the NRI wetland, so that the migratory birds can continue to visit these sites. The birds usually come here during high tides, but due to the water blockages, they are having problems," said activist Sunil Agarwal of Save Navi Mumbai Environment group.
NatConnect Foundation Director, B N Kumar appreciated Bangar for this unique initiative and said NMMC should quickly take over the Talawe wetlands – NRI and TS Chanakya – and maintain them as bird sanctuaries, by moving the state government.
