Cong MP Gaikwad seeks 'white paper' on BMC decisions under Mahayuti govt

Mumbai: Congress MP and Mumbai party unit chief Varsha Gaikwad has demanded a 'white paper' on decisions taken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation during the tenure of the Mahayuti government till 2025.

Ekanth Shinde led the Mahayuti government from June 2022 till December last year, after which Devendra Fadnavis became chief minister following the Maharashtra assembly polls.

The Mahayuti comprises the BJP, Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.

"The BMC has become a centre of corruption, be it road repairs, drain cleaning, health or education. Local body polls have not been held for the past three years and the BMC is under an administrator," Gaikwad told PTI.

"We demand a white paper on the functioning of the BMC till 2025. The state government has initiated inquiries by the Enforcement Directorate and the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau only till 2022," the Mumbai North Central MP said.

Gaikwad said she visited Deonar dumping ground and Bhabha Hospital here recently and found lack of basic amenities and waste management facilities.

The BMC funds are being utilised like party funds and are given to middlemen and contractors, she alleged.

Speaking about the Congress' preparations for civic polls, which are likely to be held later this year, Gaikwad said the party has been regularly raising issues concerning citizens.

The central leadership of the party will take a call on alliances, she added.

The Congress is part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi along with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP).

Thackeray's (then undivided) Sena controlled the cash-rich BMC till early 2022, after which the tenure of corporators ended. Civic polls have been due since then.