Mumbai, Jan 11 (PTI) Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad on Sunday said the BJP-led Mahayuti’s manifesto for the January 15 Mumbai civic polls was a “bundle of false promises”.
She accused the ruling dispensation of large-scale corruption and mismanagement in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
“The ruling alliance will not honour a single promise made in its manifesto. Deposits worth nearly Rs 90,000 crore belonging to the BMC have been misused, prime land parcels in Mumbai have been handed over to favoured industrialists, and public services have been weakened,” she said.
“The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, which ruled the BMC for 25 years and has been running the civic body through administrators for the last three years and nine months, has pushed all major files through Mantralaya (state secretariat) in violation of rules. Corruption had spread across departments. The Congress has repeatedly exposed these irregularities.” Gaikwad alleged.
Private bus services are being allowed to operate illegally in Mumbai and the MMR region, weakening the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, while there are attempts to privatise municipal schools, she said.
“There is deterioration of healthcare services, shortage of clean drinking water and flooding across the city during the first spell of monsoon rains. There is corruption in the desilting of Mithi river. Opposition-ruled wards are denied funds, while those represented by the ruling alliance received disproportionate allocations,” Gaikwad said.
She alleged that three to four thousand acres of land in Mumbai had been allotted to the Adani Group at throwaway prices by changing rules.
The government is attempting to displace residents of Dharavi and fishermen’s settlements as well as valuable land parcels under slum redevelopment schemes are being handed over to favoured entities, the Lok Sabha MP alleged.
Accusing the BJP-led alliance of “selling Mumbai”, Gaikwad said the ruling parties are avoiding discussion on civic issues and instead are making attempts to polarise society.
She appealed to citizens not to fall prey to “misleading promises”.
Meanwhile, Gaikwad has intensified her campaign for the upcoming BMC elections, holding padayatras, rallies and corner meetings across wards.
“The Congress is committed to building a sensitive, accountable and people-centric municipal administration focused on basic amenities and inclusive development,” Gaikwad asserted.
The Mahayuti alliance on Sunday unveiled a wide-ranging manifesto for the upcoming civic body elections in Mumbai, promising technology-led governance to make it a “global powerhouse”, a 50 per cent concession on fares for women in BEST buses and “freeing” the city from Bangladeshi migrants.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who unveiled the document, said the BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI (A) alliance would combine “Japanese technology” with local administration to tackle chronic civic problems and bring services to citizens’ mobile phones.
The manifesto has emphasised the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to curb corruption, speed up clearances and improve service delivery. PTI MR BNM
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