594 proposals on meeting agenda ignored as BMC standing committee debates membership of BJP councillor

Despite having 600-odd civic work proposals from the past seven months on its agenda, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) standing committee, which physically

Despite having 600-odd civic work proposals from the past seven months on its agenda, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) standing committee, which physically met for the first time since March, debated over membership of a nominated member, leaving aside the entire agenda of the day.

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The meeting started with Shiv Sena group leader and committee member Vishakha Raut contending the appointment of the nominated councillor, Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Bhalchandra Shirsat, as a committee member. She moved a proposal demanding his disqualification as a standing committee member.

While the civic body has 227 elected representatives, there are five citizen members who are experts in various fields or have expertise in the municipal body’s functioning. They are appointed as nominated councillors. These councillors do not get voting rights in the general body or the standing committee, but are allotted councillor funds and are treated like elected councillors.

Sena members, with support from the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Samajwadi Party (SP), challenged Shirsat’s membership as a standing committee member. “If he cannot vote on whether proposals are to be passed or not, there is no point in being a member of the standing committee. These are important civic work proposals that impact every Mumbaiite, and nominated members cannot vote on them,” said Raut.

A majority of the 594 proposals on the committee’s agenda were tabled for post-facto approval, which means the contracts for the civic works have been awarded and BMC has already committed them for payment. This leaves little scope for the standing committee’s effective rejection of the proposals. This is possible because the standing committee gave spending powers to the municipal commissioner in March, in light of the lockdown, since the committee did not meet during that time. The next meeting is scheduled to be held on October 26.

After a heated discussion between the Sena and BJP leaders, standing committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav said, “I have discussed the matter with the municipal secretary and the law department of the BMC. A nominated member cannot be a member of the standing committee. I disqualify him from the committee and ask him to please step out of the general body hall.” Members of other parties, except the BJP, supported the Shiv Sena.

The standing committee has 26 members, of which 13 were newly-nominated on September 28, including BJP’s Shirsat. Following the debates, Sena moved another proposal to adjourn the meeting, stating that it could not be continued without the removal of the nominated councillor, and the proposal was passed. The BJP said that it would challenge the disqualification in the Bombay high court (HC).