With Narayan Rane strapped firmly to the saddle, Mayor Nandu Satam hopes the new chief minister will clear his request for financial powers, for himself, the deputy mayor and the 10 committee chairpersons of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Mayor-in-Council. Moreover, with Rane in fast-forward mode, Satam is keeping his fingers crossed, what with former chief minister Manohar Joshi refusing to so much as sniff at the proposal.Sources in the corporation say Satam had written to the Chief Minister's Office some time ago asking to be vested with the power to clear civic proposals amounting to Rs 50 lakh for himself and Rs 25 lakh each for the 10 council members so that civic works could be expedited. Now, the change of guard at the helm could prove fortuitous. Rane and Satam madetheir political debut at about the same time. They were classmates in school and, more importantly, they also hail from the Konkan region.

At present, neither the mayor nor the committee chairpersons enjoy individual financial powers. Instead, each of the 10 committees is collectively vested with the power to pass proposals amounting to a maximum Rs 2 crore. Proposals above this ceiling are voted on by the entire Mayor-in-Council.

Corporators say it does not matter if the limit sought by the mayor is reduced as long as the mayor is conferred some financial powers. ``We shall be glad even if the mayor is granted powers to the tune of Rs 25 lakh and the council members Rs 15 lakh each. Even with this, the council members will be above the municipal commissioner, who has powers to pass proposals up to Rs 10 lakh,'' a Shiv Sena corporator remarks.

One committee chairperson reveals that for every proposal that merits clearance, they have to grovel before the committees, each of which comprises 16 membersfrom all political parties. That, the chairperson underscores, is a tightrope walk.

As soon as Satam took over as the first mayor of the MiC, he realised he had to depend entirely on his council members for every single proposal, sources in the BMC say. On the other hand, the municipal commissioner, whose powers were severely curtailed under the new dispensation, found that his financial powers were inflated from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

The rationale behind the new system was to increase the powers of the elected representatives while toning down bureaucratic control. However, council members soon realised how painful it was to depend on their respective committees for approval to spend even a single paisa. In fact, Satam had expressed his displeasure on several ocassions. For instance, he reiterated this at a seminar on local self-government only last week.

The pinch was especially felt a few months ago during a tug-of-war between Satam and Suhasini Parab, chairperson of the Roads and TrafficCommittee, over repair of potholes. Both had struggled bitterly for control over who had the power to pass proposals worth crores of rupees. While the mayor demanded that the proposals be placed before the MiC, Parab insisted that her panel should scrutinise them. Eventually, the commissioner exercised his powers and passed proposals pertaining to the more urgent works in the city.

While council members look forward to the mayor being vested with financial powers, they also feel the MiC's functioning must be reviewed so that they are used judiciously. ``The mayor does not set any targets for the various committees nor are any plans drafted for the year ahead unlike the state government,'' said a council member. Even Joshi did not care to convene a single meeting with the council members in the last 10 months. Besides, a coordination commitee meeting of the BMC and e government was cancelled as the former CM could not spare the time.