Mosquito-breeding spots found in homes of 5 IAS officers, BMC fails to serve notice

Mosquito-breeding spots have been found in the apartments of five senior IAS officers in Mumbai, prompting the civic body to intensify its drive to detect and destroy sites harbouring the carriers of deadly diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya.

After an inspection by a team of the Insecticide Department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in Yashodhan Building, home to 42 senior IAS officers as well as same number for servant quarters, flats of five of them were found housing aedes aegypti mosquito (that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, among others), a civic official said.

The officers in whose flats the breeding spots were found are JS Sahariya, Ajitkumar Jain, Ashishkumar Singh, Navin Soni and Shyamlal Goyal.

“On receiving requests from people residing near Mantralaya, our team went for an inspection during which it found aedes aegypti mosquito breeding spots (in five flats) and destroyed them immediately,” said Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner (A-ward).

Mantralaya is the administrative headquarters of the Maharashtra Government in South Mumbai and senior officers have been accommodated in buildings built near it.

The civic body, since January 1 this year, has filed 927 cases in different courts against those whose premises were found housing mosquito-breeding spots and realised a fine of Rs 26.92 lakh.

BMC yesterday served a notice to actor Shahid Kapoor under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, seeking his explanation over mosquito-breeding spots at his residential premises in Juhu Tara Road area.

Dighavkar, however, declined to comment whether the civic body would issue notices to the five IAS officers under the same section.

As reports of mosquito-breeding spots in IAS officers’ flats reached the civic chief, he called a meeting, reviewed the situation and ordered his deputies to step up the anti-mosquito drive.

“Civic Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, after chairing the Variation Committee meeting, approved a proposal to hire 285 additional staff on contract to help in the drive.

“He instructed heads of all 24 administrative wards to step up the drive to curb the population of mosquitoes,” said a statement issued by the civic chief’s office.

Meanwhile, social activist Anil Galgali demanded that notices be issued to the five bureaucrats as well. “If Shahid Kapoor can be served a notice under the Act, why not these officers? Law enforcement should be equal to all,” he said.

With PTI inputs