On budget eve, Chahal seeks counsel from a former commissioner

Chahal dialled up nonagenarian D M Sukhtankar for his advice on how to present a budget when an administrator is ruling the civic body.

MUMBAI: On the eve of presenting the civic budget, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, weighed down by criticism from Shiv Sena (UBT), which has been asking him to hold back, decided to seek counsel from a veteran. Chahal dialled up nonagenarian D M Sukhtankar for his advice on how to present a budget when an administrator is ruling the civic body.

The civic body was run by an administrator for 10 months between 1984 and 1985. D M Sukhtankar was in office from April 1 to November 10, 1984. After him, Jamshed Kanga took over and presented the budget in April 1985. “This was setting a precedent. I spoke to Sukhtankar saheb for nearly 30 minutes at my place. He told me that any of the four additional commissioners are de facto commissioners and one of them can present the budget to the commissioner,” said Chahal, adding he will not read out the budget, but will address the media “in great detail”. (HT PHOTO)

The term of BMC’s general body had ended in March 7, 2022, following which the administrator stepped in on March 8, 2022. Caught in a fix with the Thackeray faction of Sena demanding that he must only put out an interim budget, in the absence of the general body, the commissioner invited Sukhtankar to his residence in Altamount Road for some chai pe charcha.

The civic body was run by an administrator for 10 months between 1984 and 1985. D M Sukhtankar was in office from April 1 to November 10, 1984. After him, Jamshed Kanga took over and presented the budget in April 1985. “This was setting a precedent. I spoke to Sukhtankar saheb for nearly 30 minutes at my place. He told me that any of the four additional commissioners are de facto commissioners and one of them can present the budget to the commissioner,” said Chahal, adding he will not read out the budget, but will address the media “in great detail”.

“There will be chaos in BMC if the budget is not presented. Citizens cannot be inconvenienced, we are accountable to them. Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, cannot be left in a limbo,” said Chahal. He said that once the general body comes to power, it can reappropriate the budget as it is their right to do so.

Sniffing out the suppressed turbulence in the civic quarters, Sukhtankar said, he had sent a note to an official in BMC recently, marking a copy to Chahal, sharing his experiences of ’84-’85. “I feel the administrator cannot make any changes in the system which may have a long lasting effect – such as rates of taxation,” said Sukhtankar.

The civic polls are on the anvil, which will open up a turf war between the ruling BJP-BSS and Sena (UBT). Shiv Sena has controlled BMC for over 25 years. On Thursday, chief minister Eknath Shinde already asked Chahal to make provisions for clean air by installing air purifiers like Delhi, bringing in transparency in administration, improving health services and beautifying Mumbai.