New Navi Mumbai commissioner has a different style

a well-planned, neatly laid-out city, with all its parks and colourful, flowering trees in pristine condition may not be a dream after all. "the new commissioner seems to believe in prompt response to problems. so citizens should approach the officer, before he is transferred," echo several navi mumbaiikars. with a literacy rate of over 85 per cent, where even the rural areas of the new township have citizens who are quite aware, a strong local self government dependent on helpful corporators should have been the order of the day.however, instead of being in direct touch with the nagarsevaks (elected corporators), the citizens have begun to line up at the office of the municipal commissioner, dr prem singh meena, for local problems like water not reaching their apartments, or lack of adequate lighting. therefore, scores of visitors queue up outside his office every afternoon, who are subsequently heard and assured, inspite of his busy schedule which includes around five scheduled appointments, inaugurations and ceremonial presence as chief guest to various functions. unlike other municipal commissioners, meena does not have a pile of files on his table. often enough, it takes him less than three minutes ''to get to the heart of the matter'', and then a two minute glance at the documents, to conclude whether, if, when or how the problem before him can be solved. besides solving problems as per the exigencies of a situation, the commissioner does have planned solutions to macro problems up his sleeve. "we have a ten year assessment plan on the anvil, which will estimate the infrastructure requirements of this rapidly expanding township. unlike many new cities of the world, it has several flourishing nodes, each having characteristic needs of its own," informs the commissioner, voicing his determination to transform navi mumbai into a citizen friendly city. the congestion will reduce, and the vast empty spaces in navi mumbai will be filled up, he adds. no matter how big or small the problem, this officer does his best to solve it. bombaytimes@indiatimes.com