BMC to complete two years without elected reps; how is Mumbai running under admin rule?

On March 8 2024 the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC will complete two years under an administrative rule It is the longest period in the history of the BMC the richest civic body in the country to run without elected representativesSince the fiveyear tenure of the elected corporators ended in March 2022 all the committees that clear the proposals such as the standing committee which has members from all parties also became defunct Instead of holding municipal elections BMC was put under administrative rule under Section 54 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888 Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal became the sole decision maker at the BMC including sanctioning proposals and allocating fundsHowever since the administrator is appointed by the state government the opposition leaders allege that the BMC commissioner allocates funds only to ruling party leaders and proposals of opposition party leaders at the BMC are not even consideredlsquoInjustice to Mumbaikarsrsquo says former Mumbai mayorFormer mayor of Mumbai and Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction leader Vishakha Raut condemned the current BMC administrative rule saying ldquoWe are not at all satisfied with Iqbal Singh Chahalrsquos work As head of the city the commissioner needs to be impartial which is not the case with ChahalrdquoldquoThe Municipal Commissioner has sanctioned Rs 5 crore Rs 10 crore funds to BJP and Shiv Senarsquos Eknath Shinde faction representatives We want to know where will they spend this money If the money is given for specific projects we donrsquot mind but distributing it to specific party excorporators is unfair for Mumbairdquo Raut addedRaut who was also the leader of the BMC house said ldquoWhen all Mumbaikars pay taxes why only certain ward leadersrsquo proposals are sanctioned It is mere injustice to Mumbaikars Yes the commissioner needs to take advice from the state government for sanctioning proposals but to what extent is the questionrdquoRaut added that she has stopped giving proposals to the BMC commissioner lately as she gets nothing apart from a lsquoreceived stamprsquo for her letters and a verbal nodCongress leader and former corporator Ravi Raja said ldquoUnder administrative rule the municipal commissioner consults the additional commissioners and department heads on the proposals But before taking the final decision the Urban development minister and guardian ministers of the city are also consulted It is obvious the ministers are recommending proposals of the ruling partyrsquos excorporators The partiality in funds allocation is clear and seen by everybodyrdquoldquoThe BMC commissioner has given funds to MPs and MLAs of the ruling party Thus they are getting funds from both BMC and the governmentrdquo Ravi Raja addedBJP leader former corporator and former MLA Atul Shah refused to comment on the allegations made by the oppositionWhat officials saySenior BMC official on the condition of anonymity said ldquoAs the commissioner is appointed as the administrator by the state government he approves the proposals recommended by the government He also sanctions proposals by forwarding and consulting the guardian ministersrdquoldquoThere are cases that funds to certain corporators are not allotted But an allegation that only BJP and Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde group leadersrsquo proposals are sanctions is not true The BMC commissioner has given funds to former corporators like Abu Azmi and Rais Shaikh Proposals of all party leaders are consideredrdquo the official addedBMCrsquos former Joint Deputy Municipal Commissioner Bharat Marathe said ldquoThere are different kinds of funds at the corporation At the ward level there is an individual corporator fund ward committee fund and funds for the projects BMC is implementing Allocating of funds is through corporatorsrsquo recommendations As there are no elected representatives now the commissioner is the whole and sole authority Otherwise it is the standing committee which clears the proposals which is ceased now due to administrative rulerdquoldquoIn such cases although the commissioner is the final decision maker heshe takes advice from the state urban development ministry guardian ministers etc However as the commissioner is appointed by the state government there can be state ministers influence on his decision makingrdquo Marathe saidNotably when proposals are tabled in a standing committee corporators from all parties get a chance to raise their suggestions and objections discuss and debate After a proposal is sanctioned by the standing committee the BMC administration allocates funds and the concerned department implements the project work But as the committees are defunct now BMC administration is the sole decisionmaking authorityTill when the administrative rule continueIt is not only Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation but all 27 municipal corporations in Maharashtra are run by administrators Thus the entire budgets of 27 municipal corporations are in the hands of state governmentappointed administratorsThe administrative rule is implemented when the state election commission is unable to hold elections in the stipulated time In such a situation the city is put under administrative rule to handle grievances and projects and provide services to citizens on a daily basis The main point is that the citizens should not suffer due to the unavailability of elected representativesThis unprecedented situation has arisen due to a bill passed by the Maharashtra state legislature and accepted by the Governor on reservations for Other Backward Classes OBC candidates Accordingly a 27 per cent quota for OBC needs to be given in all municipal elections in the state Although the state has put the law in place the matter is pending in the Supreme Court of IndiaIn the case of Mumbai there is another reason for the delay in civic elections When Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister of the state nine civic wards in Mumbai were increased from 227 to 236 However when the Eknath Shindersquos government came to power they revoked the decision to increase wards in Mumbai The Uddhav Thackeray faction has moved to High Court against this decision and the final decision is still awaitedAs the Lok Sabha elections and Maharashtra state elections will be conducted this year it is expected that the decision on municipal elections will be finalised after the state election The Lok Sabha elections will be held in mid2024 and Maharashtra state elections will be held at the yearendThe administrative rule will continue till the state election commission conducts municipal polls