With the arrival of the monsoon, Mumbai is once again flooded—not just with water but with familiar allegations of corruption against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). For over two decades, this has been an annual ritual. Every political party claims it wants to clean up the BMC—just not when the broom is in its own hands.
Previously, the Congress-NCP accused the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, which ruled the civic body for 25 years. Today, Shiv Sena (UBT) points fingers at the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Sena. But regardless of who’s in power, corruption within Asia’s richest civic body persists. The BMC, some argue, could just as well stand for “Badly Managed Corporation”.
Take the Mithi River clean-up. Post the 2005 floods, a committee recommended urgent action. Two decades on, the river remains choked. An FIR has been filed in a desilting scam involving contractors and BMC officials. Other civic contracts—road repairs, drain cleaning, and even COVID relief—are mired in similar allegations.
Ironically, politicians highlight civic decay only when out of power. When in control, few initiate real reform. Aaditya Thackeray’s jibe about “ladka contractors” echoes this hypocrisy—Shiv Sena (undivided) held the reins for over two decades. Meanwhile, BJP’s Ashish Shelar demands a white paper on misrule, ignoring his party’s administrative oversight for the past three years.
The BMC’s 2024-25 budget stands at ₹59,954.75 crore. Despite the absence of civic elections since 2022, unelected bureaucrats continue to hold power.
Citizens are not asking for Mumbai to become Shanghai. They simply want clean roads, clear drains, reliable public transport, and footpaths free of encroachment. Is that too much for the BMC—or the politicians who control it—to deliver?
Source: Mid-day
