MUMBAI: During Tuesday's legislative assembly session, MLAs across the party lines complained against the corruption in the BMC, which has been ruled by the Shiv Sena since 1995.
While BJP MLA Ameet Satam demanded an inquiry by a retired judge into BMC's functioning and a special CAG audit in its financial transactions over the last 25 years, SP legislator Rais Shaikh said that in the last two-and-a-half years of the Maha Vikas Aghadi regime, when one went to BMC chief I S Chahal for any work, he would tell them to speak with Sena's Aaditya Thackeray.
Alleging that the current municipal commissioner [Ch-ahal] is the "most corrupt in BMC's history" and taking responsibility for this statement, Satam, during a special discussion on Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Satam said: "In the last 25 years, there have been irregularities worth Rs 3 lakh crore in the BMC.The level of corruption in the BMC will pale in comparison to the nation's biggest scams like 2G and coal scam." Without naming Chahal, Satam claimed that there's a Sachin Waze [dismissed cop arrested in Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder cases] who has ganged up with an additional municipal commissioner and is running a 'Veerapan gang' in the BMC. "We must find out who visits his office after 6pm," he added.
Satam also said that all those who "sinned" by stalling the Metro 3 carshed project had no problem in executing the Powai cycling track. "The former Mumbai city guardian minister [Aslam haikh of Congress] and suburban guardian minister [Aaditya Thackeray] pressured the BMC and environment department to give permission to build illegal studios in Marve's CRZ-I and -II areas. I demand an inquiry into these constructions and their demolition," he added.
Congress MLA Amin Patel claimed that Mumbai is losing status of being India's financial capital as the civic infrastructure is deteriorating, while his colleague Zeeshan Siddique alleged that the BMC continues to issue tenders for the same works every six months.
