Aaditya writes to Chahal about corruption in BMC

“I had simply asked for the itemised market cost of ordered items. While the BMC could have given that, it chose not to give that and gave us another chance to doubt. The response states that four items have been purchased, as per the Unified Schedule of Rates (USOR) of the BMC. However, when was this USOR last revised, and what items have been purchased as per that, in what quantity and at what cost,” Thackeray questioned in his letter

Mumbai: With the civic body elections inching closer, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has written to municipal commissioner I S Chahal over alleged corruption in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

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On July 1, the letter was written, and Shiv Sena (UBT) released it on Saturday.

“I had simply asked for the itemised market cost of ordered items. While the BMC could have given that, it chose not to give that and gave us another chance to doubt. The response states that four items have been purchased, as per the Unified Schedule of Rates (USOR) of the BMC. However, when was this USOR last revised, and what items have been purchased as per that, in what quantity and at what cost,” Thackeray questioned in his letter.

In the letter, Thackeray also asked why his queries were answered by the deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) Harshad Kale and not Chahal.

“Though vague, the reply has raised more doubts than before. While it remains your prerogative to ask any representative to reply, in what capacity has Kale replied? It is his tendering process that was being questioned, and today while I received a reply, I was quite amused to see a response from Kale, rather than either you or DMC CPD (Central Purchase Department). The response to most of my questions has been misleading and contradictory to the responses given to my colleagues from the Assembly,” wrote Aditya.

Meanwhile, Chahal said that Kale replied to his queries as he was the deputy commissioner of central purchases for five months and knew the subject. “About the rest of the issues, I or the additional commissioner (western suburbs) Sudhakar Shinde, will give a reply on Monday,” he added.

On July 1, Thackeray took a protest march to the BMC headquarters alleging corruption in the civic body. He also raised questions about why the CPD of the Health Department was involved in inviting tenders for the works of the Roads Department.