Ready for rain? Monsoon audit to be completed by 5 June, says MAUD

Hyderabad: Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) on Wednesday directed all the officials concerned in various departments like the GHMC, HMWSSB, and CDMA to complete the safety audit ahead of monsoons by 5 June.

The monsoon audit is conducted to identify and attend to all manholes and openings which exist in the ongoing works pertaining to HMWSSB & GHMC. These could be man-holes, open outlets of sewer, vents that are left unattended, open gutters, open culverts without safety barricades on sides, and gaps on footpaths that have sewer/stormwater drains underneath and other such gaps on the roads, walkways, footpaths. These, if left unattended, especially during rains when they get filled with water and thus won't be visible and poses a great imminent danger to human lives and safety.

"The Commissioner GHMC, EnC GHMC, MD, HMWSSB, and CDMA are directed to ensure that the entire area in GHMC, HMWSSB area, and all ULBs is divided field-level officer wise ( all AEs, DyEEs, EEs, and SEs ( of all wings and HoDs ), AMOH, Sanitation officers, ACPs and other field level planning officers, all DCs and other such field level officers in such a manner that each and every point and area at the ward level, circle level including all roads, walkways, footpaths and other such areas which are accessible to pedestrians /commuters are covered under safety-audit 100% and all such vulnerable points are identified and necessary actions initiated to attend all such vulnerable points," read the MAUD memo.

In the last rainy season, few instances have happened in the past wherein a casualty has occurred by falling into such unattended points. "This is a matter of serious concern. Such instances are completely avoidable if a timely safety audit is undertaken wherein 100% of such vulnerable points are inspected and appropriate action initiated to fill them in and if for some reason, filling in is not possible, action is initiated to barricade all such points," read the memo issued by Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar on Wednesday.

Arvind Kumar also mentioned that in the review meeting chaired by Minister MAUD on 5 April, the minister had said that there was zero tolerance for any negligence in this regard and that a safety audit must be done immediately to attend to all such vulnerable points.

Special Chief Secretary MAUD directed the various departments to send the list of officers deployed for the same, area-wise by 27 May.

Any negligence shall be viewed seriously and the state government will initiate disciplinary action including the filing of a criminal case and summary dismissal from service on all such officers responsible, read the memo.