A letter by Guardian Minister of Mumbai (suburban) Mangal Prabhat Lodha to Mumbai civic body chief and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal led to strong debates in the Maharashtra State Assembly on Friday.
In the letter dated June 5, 2023, Lodha had requested cabins for guardian ministers of Mumbai in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters. The minister stated that common people who face civic issues don’t get entry into the secretariat building every time. “Solving civic issues of Mumbaiites is the primary job of BMC, hence guardian ministers of Mumbai should get cabin at the BMC HQ,” Lodha said.
Shiv Sena UBT leader and former minister Aaditya Thackeray took a dig at the CM Eknath Shinde-led government over the issue. “Why have two cabins been allotted in the BMC HQs to the guardian ministers of Mumbai? What is the purpose behind this allotments?”
Now encroachments have moved into @mybmc HQ, hoping to probably name it “Casa BMC” or something like a builder’s advert. This is a shameless attack on the BMC’s independence as a local self government. If this is allowed, each of us as Mumbai MLAs should be given a cabin there,… pic.twitter.com/biNHvX5QcO
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 21, 2023
Without naming Lodha, who is involved in construction business, Thackeray said, “Is the guardian minister planning to construct a residential tower in the BMC? Is that why he needs a cabin there?”
Thackeray further asked that with the state government not conducting the overdue BMC election, leading to no mayor or corporators, why does the guardian minister have to be present at the civic headquarters? “Then, all MLAs representing Mumbai should also get office space at the BMC headquarters as people come to us, too, with work related to the BMC,” he said.
Slamming Thackeray for raising the issue “unnecessarily”, Lodha told News18: “As their Maha Vikas Aghadi was being run from home, there was a huge communication gap between people and the government. The primary work of the government is to solve the problems and issues of people. Being a guardian minister of Mumbai, I get a lot of complaints regarding civic issues. As I started working out of the BMC HQ, I have been able to resolve many issues within a short span of time. Why is the Opposition making noise? Aren’t they happy that people’s problems are getting solved?”
“The Opposition can’t digest the fact that Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis have actually brought the government to the doorsteps of people. The positive response to the government is an issue for the Opposition,” he said.
Comments
0 comment