Civic cars,long drives,11 lakh unpaid

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is now struggling to recover dues in excess of Rs 11 lakh from these corporators,who insist these tours were “official” and warranted use of their official vehicles.

Between March 2008 and August 2009,15 corporators of the Shiv Sena and the BJP,all of them representing various civic committees,used their official vehicles,each bearing the BMC name and logo,to travel to destinations outside city limits. Many of these trips were for work related to their parties’ campaign for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

According to the rulebook,BMC vehicles can only be used within municipal limits. Members using the vehicles to travel longer distances are liable to pay for the fuel and the driver.

However,13 of the 15 corporators are yet to pay their bills. The exceptions are improvements committee chairman Yashodhar Phanse and education committee chairperson Ujjwala Modak.

“We had sent them reminders to make the payment. But the members said the official vehicle was used for BMC work outside the city and they would not pay,” said an official. He added that none of the corporators has provided documents to prove that the vehicle was put to official use.

The BMC charges higher than the market rate for letting members use vehicles outside city limits,but corporators still prefer not take their personal cars,sources said. “The vehicle has a BMC flag and logo and carries an aura. They are therefore reluctant to use personal cars when an official one is available.”

Deputy mayor Vinod Ghediya had used the vehicle on five occasions,travelling to Pimpri Chinchwad,Ganpatipule,Pune,Virar and Nashik,and running up a bill of Rs 67,000. “There was some misunderstanding on the part of officials,I had used the vehicle for BMC work to these places and there is no reason for me to pay the fees. The municipal commissioner had got my bill cancelled,” he said.

Standing committee chairman Ravindra Waikar has a bill of around Rs 11,000 for his visits to Tansa/Modaksagar and Pune. “Why should I pay from my pocket for visits related to BMC work? I had not gone on a personal trip,” he said. But,he agreed,if office-bearers are using BMC vehicles for personal visits,they should pay up.

The highest outstanding amount is Rs 3.72 lakh from the Shiv Sena’s Prakash Chalke,who used the vehicle 11 times to travel to Mahabaleshwar and Solapur. Many of these trips,in the last two years,were related to party work. “I will pay in installments,” he promised.

Women and child welfare committee chairperson Snehalata Dalvi said,“I have used the car for office work but they have billed a very high amount. I will consult senior Sena leaders and discuss the payment.

TRAVEL FARE
* Prakash Chalke,works committee chairman: Rs 3.72 lakh (Devrukh,Lanja,Mahabaleshwar,Tuljapur,Solapur)
* Rajiv Chaugule,law and revenue general committee chairman till August: Rs 2 lakh(Devgad,Nagothane,Uran,Pune,Pandharpur,Vengurla,Lanja,Ambernath,Poladpur,Ahmednagar,Kolhapur,Mahad,Nerul,Ratnagiri)
* Vishwanath Maske,works committee: Rs 1.9 lakh(Pune,Latur,Tansa,Solapur,Indapur,Daund)
* Sadashiv Patil,works committee: Rs 1.11 lakh (Kolhapur,Ratnagiri,Mangaon,Solapur)
* Vinod Ghedia,dy mayor: Rs 67,000 (Pimpri Chinchwad,Ganpatipule,Pune,Virar,Nashik)
* Prakash Phaterpekar,public health committee chairman: Rs 60,000 (Goa,Panjim)
* Snehalata Dalvi,women and child welfare committee chairperson: Rs 38,000 (Dombivli,Chinchwad,Airoli)
* Shivkumar Jha,R/ward committee chairman: Rs 36,000 (Miraroad,Mahad,Chiplun,Shirdi,Virar)
* Chandrakant Rahate,law and revenue general committee chairman since August: Rs 31,000 (Mahableshwar,Wai)
* Vilas Chavari,works committee: Rs 26,000 (Panvel,Nallasopara,Vashi)
* Chandrakant Pugaonkar,works committee chairman: Rs 13,000 (Shahapur,Vashi)
* Yeshwant Jadhav,market and garden committee chairman: Rs 13,000 (Vashi,Nerul)
* Ravindra Waikar,standing committee chairman: Rs 11,000 (Pune,Tansa/Modaksagar)