BMC officials’ emergency meet with Chahal over ED summons

The recent raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the houses of civic officials in Mumbai have raised concerns among other officials in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). They fear being targeted next and have expressed their worries to the municipal commissioner. The commissioner has assured them that there will not be a witch-hunt. Officials have also met with the chief minister and his deputy to discuss the situation and have been assured that they will not be harassed. The ED is investigating the expenditure incurred during the pandemic when the ruling alliance was in power.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raiding the houses of one current and one former civic official has left many in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) worried as they fear they have been caught in the crossfire between the ruling alliance and Shiv Sena (UBT) and they might be the next to face the ‘harassment’.

**EDS: IMAGE VIA MAHARASHTRA CMO** Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visits the flood-affected areas in Mumbai, Sunday, June 25, 2023. (PTI Photo)(PTI06_25_2023_000267A) (PTI)

Some of the senior officers met the municipal commissioner, I S Chahal, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and made it clear that it would be difficult for them to carry out monsoon-related work if they were targeted by the ED, people familiar with the matter said.

Chahal reportedly assured them that there would not be a witch-hunt, it is learnt.

A deputy municipal commissioner said they even met chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis and briefed them about the current situation.

“They (Shinde and Fadnavis) realised that if Mumbai got flooded or something went wrong it would look bad on part of the ruling front ahead of the civic polls. We have been assured that the officers will not be harassed in the ED probe,” the officer, who did not want to be named, said.

Though it was a public holiday on Thursday, sources in the BMC said additional commissioner (projects) P Velarasu called a meeting and told officials to hand over the documents sought by the ED as part of its probe into the expenditure incurred during the pandemic when Sena (UBT) was ruling the civic body.

Following this, one set of papers was given to the agency on Friday and another set will be sent on Monday, the sources added.

A senior officer said former additional commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal appeared for questioning before the ED on Friday and he was provided with a file for his reference. “As many as 95 people were involved in the purchases, information on which was sought by the ED. Velarasu met all of them.”

When contacted by HT, Chahal refused to comment on the matter.

Sainath Rajadhuaksha, working president of Brihanmumbai Municipal Engineers Union, is one of those who met Chahal to air their grievances.

“In the fight between Sena (UBT) and Shiv Sena-BJP, our officers and engineers suffer. When the road scam was investigated by then chief minister Fadnavis, our engineers were subjected to harassment, but no politician or contractor was arrested. Even during Covid-19, we worked hard and risked our lives. However, the houses of deputy commissioner Ramakant Biradar and Jaiswal were searched by the ED. If this is the attitude, carrying out monsoon-related work will become difficult. We told commissioner about this,” Rajadhuaksha said.

A civic engineer said, “We get caught in the crossfire between political parties and if Shiv Sena (UBT) returns to power, we will draw flak again.”