MUMBAI: After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Rs 1.5 crore proposal to replace Mahindra Scorpio SUVs allotted to key political office-bearers in the civic body with six new Toyota Innovas ran into controversy, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that public money should be spent only on development works and civic amenities.The CM further directed the civic body to stop wasteful expenditure and focus on the needs of the people.Last week, the BMC proposal led to a heated debate in the civic standing committee.The opposition questioned the expenditure, while the ruling BJP accused the opposition of going back on a decision that had been taken unanimously by all political parties.BJP group leader Ganesh Khankar said the controversy was unnecessary as there had been consensus among all parties.The move drew criticism from opposition parties, including Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray, who questioned the timing of the proposed fleet upgrade and the expenditure involved.In protest, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) office-bearers purchased Toyota Innova models and announced that they would courier them to BMC office-bearers and the civic administration.Khankar also distanced himself from the move, stating that he had never sought new vehicles and had no intention of doing so.In a letter to Municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide, Khankar said reports suggesting that the civic body was splurging public money on new vehicles had created a wrong impression among Mumbaikars.He further said the opposition had deliberately misrepresented the proposal without taking into account that the vehicles were to be procured on lease under the existing policy.Khankar urged the civic administration to continue with the existing Mahindra Scorpio SUVs and ensure uniformity in vehicle allocation.He requested that all senior civic officers and chairpersons of statutory committees, barring the Municipal commissioner and the mayor, be provided Scorpio vehicles of the same category so that there was parity among all functionaries.
