BMC Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde Alleges Uddhav Thackeray Denied Funds To BJP Corporators; Political Row Erupts

Mumbai saw a political uproar within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde accused former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of directing civic officials to withhold funds from BJP corporators. The controversy reignited a contentious issue from the previous administration. The controversy intensified over the BMC's fixed deposits when Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Lakshmi Bhatia accused the administration of discrimination in distributing funds to corporators.

During a discussion on quarterly fixed deposit reporting, Bhatia alleged that the government was misleading citizens regarding the allocation of civic funds. Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) corporator Yamini Jadhav criticized the Thackeray faction for the delayed BMC elections, claiming that the current situation could have been averted if polls had been held as per schedule in 2022, a year when Uddhav Thackeray held the Chief Minister's position.

She held the previous leadership accountable for the vacuum that emerged after the civic body's term ended without fresh elections. The situation escalated when BJP corporator Sheetal Gambhir challenged Bhatia to join the BJP benches, leading to a heated exchange. Shinde then alleged that BJP corporators had been denied funds by the then Thackeray-led government based on political differences, which hampered development works in wards under opposition control.

The committee also discussed green bonds, PPP projects, and the BMC's financial strategy. House leader Ganesh Khankar urged for clarity on the anticipated returns from green bonds, the proposed utilization of Union government grants, and the implications of BMC funding choices on BEST.