Navi Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the state Urban Development Department (UDD) to scrutinise the complaints over Cidco’s project of installation of mobile towers on road medians in Ulwe node of Navi Mumbai, signalling an official scrutiny of the contentious project.The residents and citizen groups are up in arms against the ongoing digging work on road medians in Ulwe for telecom infrastructure, citing concerns over traffic safety, obstruction, civic planning and public transparency. The complaint was marked to Additional Chief Secretary Dr. KH Govinda Raj, who heads UDD-II and oversees issues related to non-metro civic bodies and municipal councils in Maharashtra. The chief minister’s direction is expected to trigger an administrative review of the approvals and processes behind the Cidco project. The CM’s intervention followed a representation by civil rights activist BN Kumar, who raised concerns over telecom towers being erected on central medians in Ulwe and nearby Navi Mumbai nodes.Activist BN Kumar said, “The CM’s swift response indicated a specific direction to the department rather than a routine automated acknowledgement. This was not an auto-generated mail. The matter has been marked to the concerned senior officer of UDD for action. Meanwhile, the citizen groups will continue to pursue the issue through RTI Act to obtain details of permissions, safety clearances, structural approvals and policy decisions linked to the mobile towers installation.“Santosh Kate, a local leader spearheading the protest, said, “The Ulwe residents are not against improved telecom services, but strongly object to the manner in which mobile towers will be erected on road dividers without visible safeguards. Mobile towers are necessary for communication services, but the way these structures are being installed shows little concern for public safety. Citizens will intensify the agitation if Cidco continued the work without public transparency.”
