BMC gags officials from speaking to media

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday issued a circular stating that only the civic body chief and additional commissioners were henceforth authorised to speak to the media

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday issued a circular stating that only the civic body chief and additional commissioners were henceforth authorised to speak to the media.

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The circular stated, “Various facilities and activities implemented by the BMC are often followed by other municipal corporations in the country. Its good and bad effects directly and indirectly affect the citizens of Greater Mumbai along with the citizens of other metros. Therefore, it is necessary to give information about the various schemes, activities and emergency incidents implemented on behalf of the BMC to the media after considering everything.”

The circular further stated that it has been observed that without the order of the municipal commissioner, often the heads of departments/accounts provide mutual information to the media. “It also includes strategic aspects. Therefore, the image of the municipal corporation in the public mind is affected by the dissemination of contradictory information. Henceforth only the municipal commissioner and concerned additional municipal commissioner will be the competent authority to release any information regarding the BMC to the media. It should be noted that any officer or employee below the rank of additional municipal commissioner is not authorised to give information about BMC to the media.”

Objecting to the circular, MLA Rais Shaikh, former corporator and Samajwadi Party leader, said, “This circular is to curtail the democratic set up in the corporation. The BMC is not only curtailing free speech, but bulldozing and demoralising officers. It is also restricting media and curtailing officers’ powers, which is a sign of autocratic behaviour.”

This circular came as a déjà vu moment for some of the seasoned journalists. In 2009, former municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak had issued a six-point rule for journalists, where a reporter could only ask one question during a media briefing besides other diktats. After journalists deemed the guidelines as a hindrance to the freedom of press and staged a protest outside Phatak’s cabin, the circular was withdrawn.