July 30: Several development proposals are awaiting standing committee's approval after being marked `not taken' (for discussion). While the term `not taken' does not find any place in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's procedures and rules, it is allegedly being used by committee members to buy time to strike deals with contractors.A proposal of carrying out major structural repairs to the Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge over Western Railway at Andheri at a cost of Rs 4 crore was approved without any discussion on July 29, almost two months after it was marked `not taken' by standing committee on June 7. There were no reasons assigned when it was not taken up for discussion either.According to Clause 11 (4) of the BMC Procedure Rules, discussion on an item can be postponed if two committee members either orally, or in writing, demand its postponement till the next meeting. However, if the demand is granted it becomes mandatory for the administration to put the same item on the agenda for the next meeting. However, since there are no guidelines for the administration on how to deal with a proposal marked `not taking,' it is ignored till the commissioner brings it back before the committee by way of a statement or a letter. The commissioner's statement, on most occasions, is just a formality though, as the remark `not taken' is rarely accompanied by any objections or questions regarding the proposal. BMC sources say before 1987 standing committee members used to pass amendment motions to carry out desired changes in a proposal by a majority vote, which they were not empowered to do under Section 69 (C) of the BMC Act. When expert legal opinion on the powers of the standing committee was sought in 1987 by then Municipal Commissioner S S Tinaikar, well-known jurist H M Shrivai had opined that the committee was empowered only to approve, reject, postpone, or refer back a proposal to the commissioner to seek more information. This ended the practice of amendment motions in the committee meetings. But, during the chairmanship of Shiv Sena from 1986 to 1988 the members found a new way to stall proposals - they simply marked them `not taken.'Corporators also tried to follow this procedure in the general body meetings, but the then Mayor Boman Behram opposed it saying that ``not taking'' was not supported by any procedure, law or code of conduct of the House meetings. However, the question now arises is why the administration, which is fully aware of the legal status of ``not taking,'' allow the members to drop items from agenda by using this term? Sources say it is because they too, can use this time to strike their own deals. According to Tinaikar, the term `not taken' is similar to postponing an item. ``Strictly speaking, when an item is postponed, it is done by corporators to seek more information. "However, the term `not taken' is now being adopted by corporators and even the administration as a tool to make easy money.''
