Mumbai: Enquiry ordered into COVID-19 expenditure by BMC

In the last two months, the standing committee has rejected more than 100 proposals related to pandemic expenses sent by the civic administration

With the standing committee members expressing displeasure over the proposals sent by the BMC administration regarding COVID-19 expenditure, it has ordered an enquiry into all the expenses related to the pandemic. The enquiry will be conducted by the Municipal Chief Auditor. In the last two months, the committee has rejected more than 100 proposals sent by the administration.

The BMC is required to get necessary approvals for every proposal concerning COVID-19 expenses from the standing committee. During a meeting held on Wednesday, BJP group leader Prabhakar Shinde objected to the incomplete information provided regarding the cost of COVID Care Centres. Group leader of Samajwadi Party Rais Sheikh told the committee that there were huge discrepancies in spending during the pandemic. He demanded an inquiry under the Municipal Chief Auditor and formed a standing sub-committee. Leader of opposition Ravi Raja pointed out that despite doubts raised by the committee over the past two months and even after sending back more than 100 proposals, the administration had not provided an explanation. He further said that it was a serious issue and the committee should consider taking back the COVID-19 spending powers from the administration. Chairman of the standing committee Yashwant Jadhav ordered an enquiry into the matter as per the demand of the members. He also asked the administration to submit a detailed written report on the expenditure over the past eight months.

BMC spent '127 crore on meals

Meanwhile, the civic body spent '127 crore on providing meals to the poor, homeless and daily wagers during the first few months of the lockdown. As per the proposal tabled in the standing committee meeting, the state government was supposed to pay for the meals. Out of the total, '24 crore was given by the state government. But as it was an urgent matter, the BMC paid the rest.

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