BJP gets rich spread of BMC ward funds, oppn peanuts

MUMBAI: The latest round of budget allocations for corporators has revealed stark disparities in ward committee fund distribution within the ruling BJP, even as opposition members have received a marginal share. While ruling parties have traditionally secured a larger portion of funds during annual budget amendments, this year's figures point to major internal variation within BJP itself.

Standing committee chairperson Prabhakar Shinde (Mulund) and corporator Ganesh Khankar, both from BJP, have each been allotted around Rs 20 crore. Civic officials say allocations of around Rs 20 crore per corporator are unusually high. At the other end of the BJP spectrum, Swapna Mhatre, Hetal Gala, Sheetal Gambhir, Keserben Murji Patel, Prakash Gangadhare, Niel Somaiyya and Tejaswee Ghosalkar have each received Rs 2.25-3 crore. Members of the Narwekar family -- Harshita (Rs 2.25 crore), Makrand (Rs 3.1 crore) and Gauravi (Rs 2.25 crore) -- have also received relatively modest allocations. Their brother, Rahul, is a BJP MLA and Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly. There's also a middle tier within BJP: Akash Rajpurohit, Prakash Darekar and Shrikala Pillai, with around Rs 5 crore each, and Rohan Rathod, Suddha Singh, Anish Makhwaney and Sunita Mehta in the Rs 6-9 crore range. Rathod and Singh are from Andheri (West), a constituency represented by BJP Mumbai president Ameet Satam.

As for opposition corporators, they have been allotted minimal funds. Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Vishakha Raut and Congress corporator Tulip Miranda, for instance, have each received just Rs 25 lakh.

BJP's BMC group leader Ganesh Khankar said he would take up the matter with the standing committee chairperson. "These are ward committee funds allocated based on the works proposed by corporators," he said. Satam said he had flagged the issue earlier. "After reviewing the details, I wrote to the standing committee chairperson on April 16, highlighting disproportionate allocations in Andheri (West). I requested that excess funds be withdrawn and a more equitable distribution ensured," he said, adding that his intervention was aimed at maintaining transparency and fairness. But former mayor and opposition leader Kishori Pednekar criticised Satam, alleging growing interference. "The bias in fund allocation is now evident," she said.

Political observers said the uneven distribution has unsettled several BJP corporators and MLAs, who had expected greater parity. "As a party in power for the first time in BMC, BJP was expected to ensure more balanced allocations. Instead, the concentration of funds among senior leaders suggests a scramble for resources and weak internal management," an observer said, adding that the party's intervention to review allocations may have prevented further damage to its image. "Going forward, fund distribution will need greater consultation and consensus to avoid internal friction."
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