A report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on the functioning of Mumbai's civic body highlighted a lack of transparency and planning, as well as careless use of funds, and highlighted non-sharing of COVID-19 management expenditure records.
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Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, reacting to the report, said they (his party) 'welcome the CAG report'.
"People know about our work. They elected us in last 25 years," Thackeray said, defending the party's administration in Civic body over the last two decades.
" We have exposed many scams of Mumbai Municipal Corporation, and y'day also a scam came to light. All these scams are happening under the CM. Maharashtra govt should conduct a CAG inquiry in Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, and Pune municipalities," Thackeray said.
In an attack on CM Shinde, Thackeray said the 'CM' stands for 'corrupt man'.
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The CAG report, which Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tabled in the Maharashtra Assembly on Saturday, examined expenditure of ā¹12,023.88 crore made by nine departments of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation between November 28, 2019 and October 31, 2022.
Several works were awarded without tendering or selecting proper contractors, including one case of an influent pumping station in which malafide intentions cannot be ruled out, according to the report.
The CAG report also stated that despite repeated requests to the civic body by the Office of the Accountant General (Audit)-I, Maharashtra, records relating to the expenditure for the management of the COVID-19 pandemic were not produced.
The failure to produce these records, in addition to infringing on constitutional responsibilities devolved on the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, deprived the BMC of critical audit inputs that would have been beneficial for any course correction and systemic improvements, according to the report.
It claimed that the BMC refused to allow an investigation into the expenditure of ā¹3538.73 crore due to the Pandemic Act.
Due to the lack of these records, no confirmation can be made in the audit on the propriety, efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of BMC's expenditure for COVID-19 management at this time, according to the report.
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Speaking in the House, Fadnavis claimed that the investigation was limited to only ā¹12,000 crore and that more irregularities would have been discovered if the entire functioning of the civic body had been examined.
