BMC spent Rs 38 crore inaugurating projects last year, activists slam public money spent on PR

The civic body has been urged by activists and a former mayor to think twice before spending indiscriminately. File pic/Shadab Khan

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has spent R38 crore from the last financial year to date on the inaugurations and ground-breaking ceremony programmes linked to various projects. The amount will rise by the end of the present fiscal year as more bills will be approved, according to sources.

According to data received from the BMC, in the current financial year, Rs 10 crore has been spent so far on inaugurations and ground-breaking ceremonies. In 2023-24, 2022-2023 and 2021-2022, the civic body spent around Rs 28 crore, Rs 1.80 crore and Rs 28 lakh ,respectively, on such activities.

According to BMC data, in the past two years, various projects worth R1 lakh crore were started by the civic body, including a sewage treatment plant, the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road tunnel, Versova Dahisar Link Road, Dahisar-Mira Bhayandar connector, city beautification drive and road concreting project. According to officials, in this financial year, bills related to inaugurations worth R10 crore have already been approved. However the total expenditure will not match last year's as the Model Code of Conduct was imposed twice by the Election Commission of India in 2024 due to the Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls.

Recently, the BMC approved a proposal to pay for the ground-breaking ceremony of a tunnel between Goregoan and Khindipada in Bhandup. This tunnel will pass under Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The BMC spent R70.80 lakh on the programme which was held on April 17.

"It is certain that the bigger the leader, the higher the expenses will be. Leaders want to promote themselves and grand ceremonies are held for this purpose. But, many times, because leaders do not have time, projects do not start even after completion due to lack of inauguration", said civic activist Rajkumar Sharma. "Politicians are doing PR for themselves with public money. Does a huge amount of money really need to be spent on inaugurations and ground-breaking ceremonies?" asked activist Zoru Bhathena.

Vishakha Raut, former mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) member, said, "When I was the mayor in 1997, the BMC was suffering losses. By controlling expenditure and curbing wasteful spending, the BMC's deposits have reached R90,000 crore. Yes, BMC is not a profit-making entity, but we need huge amounts for projects. Therefore, one should think twice before spending indiscriminately. This is the taxpayers' money. It should be used thoughtfully so that facilities can be provided to citizens. If such expenditure continues, there may come a day when even paying the salaries of employees will be difficult. Therefore, all political parties should think about this."