In an RTI filed by leading newspaper agency, Five-five crores as soon as the party changes! Mumbai Municipal Corporation favors the wards of former corporators who have joined the Shinde group.
The Municipal Corporation has given Rs 5 crore each to 31 corporators out of its Rs 900 crore ‘contingency fund’.
Municipal ‘s “Contingency Fund”
The Mumbai Municipal Corporation passed a special resolution and not only gave a development fund of Rs 500 crore to the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde group) MLAs, but also a “contingency fund” of Rs 163 crore out of which 29 lakh was given to the wards of 31 corporators. Out of these 31 former corporators, 30 corporators had joined the Shinde group of Shiv Sena.
The Municipal Corporation gave Rs 5 crore each to 31 corporators out of its Rs 900 crore ‘contingency fund’, but deprived the corporators of the opposition parties. This fund was disbursed in 10 months from February 2023 to December 31, 2023.
Unfair Distribution
21 corporators of Shiv Sena’s Thackeray group, six of Congress and three of NCP had joined Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Along with these 30 corporators, one BJP corporator has become a beneficiary of the ‘Contingency Fund’ of the Municipal Corporation. 30 corporators were given a fund of Rs 5 crore each as soon as they switched parties. A majority of the 30 corporators joined the Shinde faction and were sanctioned funds in less than 15 days.
Specific Method of Fund Sanction
A specific process was used while sanctioning funds to 30 former corporators. As soon as a former corporator enters Chief Minister Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, the in-charge officer of the concerned department of the municipality sends a written proposal seeking funds for development works in the corporator’s ward, so that it is sanctioned at the earliest. Municipal elections are pending for two years. As there is no corporator, the department officers (assistant commissioners) are demanding grants for various development works.
Mangesh Satmakar and Ravi Raja
On July 28, 2023, Mangesh Satamkar (Ward 175), a corporator from Sion of Shiv Sena’s Thackeray group, was sanctioned a fund of five crores by the Municipal Corporation, one month after he joined the Shinde group. On the other hand, the proposal of Ravi Raja (Ward 176), Congress corporator of the ward adjoining Satmakar’s own ward, has been kept pending despite sending letters to the Guardian Minister and Commissioner.
Keep 196 corporators
The Municipal Corporation distributed Rs 5 crore each from the ‘contingency fund’ to the wards of 30 former corporators who joined the Shinde group, but not a single rupee was given to the remaining 196 corporators according to an esteemed media newspaper RTI.
What is a contingency fund for?
The ‘Contingency Fund’ is used mainly during the rainy season. This fund is used in ‘adverse situations’ like disease outbreak, landslides, bridge collapses. Local bodies generally set aside about 4 per cent of their net annual income for ‘contingency funds’.
Congress slams BMC’s Selective Approach
Senior Congress leader and spokesperson Supriya Srinate said that “BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) is the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra.
BMC is responsible for the infrastructure and administration of Mumbai. It was formed to improve the infrastructure of the city.
Now according to the information received in RTI, MLAs were given Rs 500 crore for Mumbai upgrade by BMC, but all this fund was given to the MLAs of the ruling party in Mumbai, opposition MLAs did not get anything, it is the money of taxpayers, which every Mumbaikar has the right.
Discrimination among citizens, not giving funds to the MLAs of the opposition for their area is not a betrayal to those legislators, who have sent them by electing them or this is also the plan of buying and selling of the MLAs. @IndianExpress Expose”
Now it has to be seen whether the government makes any comment on this or this matter still pulls more.
