E-Paper
17 Maharashtra government bungalows including CM Uddhav Thackeray’s residence on list of water bill defaulters, says RTI activist; CMO denies allegation
As many as 17 government bungalows occupied by chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray, his deputy Ajit Pawar and other senior ministers are in the list of defaulters
As many as 17 government bungalows occupied by chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray, his deputy Ajit Pawar and other senior ministers are in the list of defaulters for water bill dues worth ₹2,456,469, according to information collated by Right To Information (RTI) activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh. The chief minister’s office (CMO) has, however, denied the charges and clarified that the two bungalows occupied by the CM have no water bills pending.
All government offices and official residences are managed and maintained by the state’s public works department.
Shaikh said that as per the information collated from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) website, Varsha and Torna — the bungalows occupied by Thackeray — owe ₹28,719 towards water bills from April to October. Similarly, the dues for Devgiri, which is occupied by Pawar, are ₹135,300, and ₹115,288 is due for Seva Sadan which is occupied by water resources minister Jayant Patil.
The highest due at ₹144,415 is for water usage at Ramtek, the bungalow occupied by food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Interestingly, the list also includes Sagar, the official bungalow occupied by Leader of Opposition and former CM Devendra Fadnavis, for dues to the tune of ₹124,553. The state guest house Sahyadri’s unpaid water bill is ₹745,856, Shaikh said.
A clarification issued by the CMO stated there are no dues for water usage at Varsha and Toran. “The water works department of BMC has given a report which says there is no unpaid bill for water usage at both the bungalows,” the statement reads. The statement, however, does not have any clarification for the unpaid bills for other bungalows occupied by other ministers.
