BMC chief had all financial powers, Say ex-corporators

Mumbai: A day after it emerged that chief minister Eknath Shinde has asked CAG to probe BMC projects worth Rs 12,000 crore between 2019 and 2022, former corporators from opposition parties pointed out that all financial powers of the BMC during most of that period were vested with the municipal commissioner due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

- Chaitanya.Marpakwar timesgroup.com

“According to the Standing Committee Resolution (SCR) of 17.3.2020, all the financial powers of the BMC were vested with babus and this SCR is still in force. The dates clearly show it was the current BMC chief who called all the shots related to all spending on Covid contracts. Many contracts were given without tenders and every single rupee spent must be audited. The BMC corporators were not involved in contracts and it was the babus who were ruling,” said Rais Shaikh, a former Samajwadi Party corporator.

TIMES VIEW: If the CM Eknath Shinde-led state government is serious about the CAG probe, there should be a genuine probe and the guilty, if anyone is indicted, must be brought to book. It must not become a paper inquiry where no action is taken in the end. The state government must take stern action against anyone found guilty — be it officials, political leaders or contractors — and also take corrective measures against possible irregularities in the future.