Mid-day impact: Sena-UBT wards will get their due, assures Mangal Prabhat Lodha

mid-day impact: Guardian Minister Lodha assures that opposition wards will get proper money after our report exposed underfunding

Mangal Prabhat Lodha, guardian minister of Mumbai suburban, has assured a delegation of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders that he will approve Opposition MLAs’ development-related proposals so that funds can be allotted to implement the work in their constituencies. The delegation, led by Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, met Lodha on Thursday.

The minister told mid-day, “I have discussed the issue with Danve and assured him that if I receive  proposals regarding funds for development work, I will forward them to the civic authority.” The BMC had set aside Rs 36 crore for each Assembly constituency. However, according to state government guidelines, the guardian minister must approve development-related proposals made by legislators.

Mangal Prabhat Lodha, guardian minister, Mumbai Suburban district (left). File Pic/Atul Kamble

On October 10, Shiv Sena (UBT) delegation led by Danve met civic chief I S Chahal and demanded that funds be distributed fairly. “During the discussion, the civic chief said that the BMC administration can only approve funds if the guardian minister recommends it,” said Sachin Padwal, former corporator of the Sena (UBT). “We met the guardian minister on Thursday. He assured our delegation that he would take a decision in a week,”he added.

mid-day was the first to expose the uneven allocation of development funds by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). In a series of reports, from February 15 to 17, this newspaper revealed how a provision of Rs 3 crore was made for 77 electoral wards administered by the BJP, thrice the amount set aside for the rest of the wards. After that, the BMC made a provision of Rs 36 crore for development work suggested by MLAs.

However, the guardian minister’s recommendation is required for disbursing them. According to information obtained through a Right to Information request, the civic body disbursed Rs 340.58 crore to 15 MLAs in Mumbai, with 12 of them belonging to the BJP and three to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction.

Oct 10 
Day delegation met Lodha

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