The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) Maharashtra on Monday came out in defence of the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after a Right to Information (RTI) query by an activist revealed that several state ministers had unpaid water bill dues, running into lakhs of rupees.
The response came after RTI activist Shakeel Ahmad Sheikh revealed information collected from Mumbai's municipal corporation that over Rs 24 lakhs in bills is outstanding on the government houses of other ministers, including the Chief Minister.
And as a result of the unpaid dues, the Municipal Corporation has put one of the Chief Minister's bungalows on the defaulters' list, it claimed.
Refuting the charges made against the Chief Minister, Maharashtra CMO said," "Details provided by BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) show that no water bill is pending for both the CM's bungalows - 'Varsha' and 'Torana'. News about pending water bills is incorrect."
Apart from Uddhav Thackeray, other state ministers whose names have been revealed are Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, Energy Minister Nitin Raut, Minister of Revenue Balasaheb Thorat, among several others.
