Mumbai civic chief orders inquiry into functioning of Sena leader and actor Aadesh Bandekar’s trust

Mumbai city news: Both the auditorium and complex has been a bone of contention between Shiv Sena and BJP, with BJP blaming the Sena for their poor upkeep.

Following a Bombay high court order, civic chief Ajoy Mehta has ordered an inquiry into the functioning of the Brihanmumbai Krida and Lalitkala Pratishthan — a BMC trust that runs civic facilities at Mulund’s Kalidas Auditorium and the Andheri Sports Complex.

The Shiv Sena heads the trust, which oversees the functioning of the two facilities, which has auditoriums, swimming pools and gymnasiums (HT)

The Shiv Sena heads the trust, which oversees the functioning of the two facilities, which has auditoriums, swimming pools and gymnasiums. The trust has the mayor, leader of opposition, municipal commissioner, additional commissioner and other senior civic officers on the board. Some seats are reserved for artists and sports persons. Sena leader and actor Aadesh Bandekar is the managing trustee.

Both the auditorium and complex has been a bone of contention between Shiv Sena and BJP, with BJP blaming the Sena for their poor upkeep. BJP recently demanded an inquiry into the day-to-day activities of the trust. “There are leakages in the roof. The swimming pool has not been opened but no one pays attention to that. We have demanded an inquiry into the functioning of the BLKP and the civic chief has agreed to our demand. There are glaring irregularities in its functioning,” said Manoj Kotak, BJP leader in the BMC and a corporator from Mulund.

This is not the first time that the BJP has accused the trust of mismanagement. In 2015, the BJP had demanded that Bandekar be removed from the post of the managing trustee and instead, a local corporator be given the position. “There are both administrative and financial irregularities in how the trust runs both the facilities,” added Kotak.