Mumbai: BMC’s proposal to replace Mahindra Scorpio-N SUVs with six new Toyota Innova Crysta vehicles for key political office-bearers led to a heated political slugfest at Thursday’s standing committee meeting, with the opposition questioning the expenditure and the ruling BJP accusing it of backtracking on a decision taken unanimously by all political parties.Congress corporator and also the party leader in BMC, Ashraf Azmi, objected to the proposed purchase, saying the civic body should avoid spending on expensive vehicles at a time when it is facing financial constraints. He argued that the BMC should exercise fiscal prudence instead of upgrading official cars.The BJP hit back immediately, claiming that the decision to replace the vehicles had been taken unanimously at a meeting of leaders of all political parties.BJP group leader Ganesh Khankar said the controversy was unnecessary as there had been consensus across party lines. “The next time such a decision is taken, I will ensure it is signed by all present and in agreement of such decisions before it is approved, so that such controversies do not arise,” he remarked.Standing Committee chairperson Prabhakar Shinde also defended the proposal, saying opposition members were fully aware of and had agreed to the decision earlier. “It is incorrect to now create an issue over something that was discussed and accepted by all political parties,” he said.The discussion soon descended into a noisy exchange, with ruling party members objecting to Azmi raising the issue since the proposal was not listed on the day’s agenda. They demanded that the chairperson confine the discussion to listed business. Azmi, however, maintained that he was speaking about the need for financial discipline in the BMC which was the need of the current time.The controversy comes a day after the BMC administration proposed spending around Rs 1.5 crore to procure six Toyota Innova Crysta vehicles for the deputy mayor, leader of the House, leader of the opposition, and chairpersons of the standing, improvements and education committees.The civic administration has cited demands from political office-bearers for more comfortable vehicles for long commutes across the city and official site inspections. The proposal follows the allotment of Toyota Innova Hycross Hybrid vehicles to mayor Ritu Tawde and additional municipal commissioners.A BMC official said the vehicle replacement system is followed to ensure that once a car completes a prescribed age, it is phased out and replaced with a new one.However, BJP leader Ganesh Khankar demanded that the BMC scrap the practice of allotting different categories of cars to political leaders and administrative officers. “The same type of vehicle should be provided to everyone, whether elected representatives or civic officials,” he said.Khankar added that the category of car made no difference to him as he regularly travels by train. “I have never demanded a particular kind of car,” he said.He also pointed out that the vehicles are hired on contract and the BMC pays a monthly rental to the companies providing them. “Therefore, there is no question of the civic body making a permanent capital expenditure on these vehicles,” he said.Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday criticised the BMC’s proposal to induct a new fleet of official vehicles for top political functionaries, accusing the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena civic body of promoting VIP culture while ignoring the city’s public transport and infrastructure issues.Thackeray said the ruling alliance had already “emptied the BMC’s coffers” over the past four years and was now seeking new cars and official bungalows barely six months after assuming office. Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi a corporator of Shiv Sena had made a demand for an official bungalow last month.“VIP culture is one thing, but look at the excuses being offered — long commutes, potholes and traffic. Lakhs of Mumbaikars travel by local trains every day, yet the BJP has failed to improve the suburban railway system despite being in power for 12 years,” Thackeray said in a post on social media X.He also questioned why elected representatives could not use public transport, asking why they did not travel by BEST buses or the Metro. Alleging that the government was weakening BEST in favour of private contractors, he said the leaders should experience the city’s public transport just as ordinary citizens do.Referring to reports that the Deputy Mayor had sought an official bungalow in south Mumbai, Thackeray said the demand reflected misplaced priorities. He also reminded the ruling alliance of its earlier promise to make Mumbai’s roads pothole-free within two years.He added that if public representatives travelled by BEST buses, they would understand the value of an affordable public transport system. Thackeray claimed that during the previous Shiv Sena-led administration, efforts were underway to expand the BEST fleet to 10,000 buses.
