Rajya Sabha MP Hema Malini saw the appalling conditions on Monday, and was so upset, that she phoned suburban district collector Vishwas Patil and asked him to improve the facilities. Patil promised to forward her complaint to the inspector general of registration who oversees all the offices in the state.
Hema Malini had visited the office on Monday |
Hema Malini told Mumbai Mirror, “Even if there is a makeshift place, there should be proper seating arrangements. It should be neat and clean. Everybody is forced to stand outside in the rain. There can at least be plastic chairs. Can’t the government afford a better place?”
“The place is cramped. Rain water and muck enters the premises and people have to suffer because of it,’’ she added. She refused to give details regarding her property transaction.
A government official admitted the problem and said even the staff had demanded that the office be shifted to a better place. “There is no space available in government buildings hence we have to rent out the premises. There are complaints regarding it but the work has not been affected,’’ he said.
He added that since the premises are rented, the government has to seek the landlord’s permission each time it wishes to carry out repairs and renovations. “Even the access to the office is narrow. There is no proper parking space. Cars take up most of the space in the lane, motorcycles are parked in the building compound. There are few chairs for visitors and very little room even for the staff,’’ he said.