Finalise action against corrupt civic officials, HC tells govt

April 4: The Bombay High Court today directed the state government to finalise what action it intends to take against officials in the mun...

April 4: The Bombay High Court today directed the state government to finalise what action it intends to take against officials in the municipal corporations of Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar and Pune, following reports on financial misappropriations and other maladministrations, by June 12, 2000.

The directions were given by the division bench of Chief Justice B P Singh and Justice N J Pandya while hearing a public interest petition filed by Bhagwanji Raiyani.

The state advocate general Goolam Vahanvati submitted that the state government will take at least a month’s time for deciding on the Nandlal Committee report on the widespread maladministration in Ulhasnagar. He added that as far as the corporation of Pune was concerned, it will take one month to enquire into the allegations against it, while it will take two and a half months to decide on future action.

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The petition has been based on various news reports, including reports in Mumbai Newsline on the unhygienic conditions in Ulhasnagar where roads were littered with garbage and pigs had a field day. The complaints in this regard were that the conservancy staff collected their salaries by just signing on the muster. After consistent reports in the media on the ill-health of the corporation and the corruption of corporators, the Bombay High Court had earlier directed a committee headed by former municipal commissioner D M Sukthankar and S S Tinaikar to investigate into the complaints.

Earlier, the Nandlal Committee, headed by the then principal secretary of the Urban Development Department, had enquired into the nexus between the corporators and officials of the corporation where no action could be taken against illegal structures owned by corporators.

Raiyani has in his petition urged the Bombay High Court to direct the state government to take action against officials responsible for this state of the corporation.

Nandlal had in 1999 conducted an enquiry into the working of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation where he had concluded that the nexus between corrupt officials and corporators was responsible for the penury of the corporation and the subsequent neglect. The report had listed 31 corporators who had illegal constructions and who were causing obstructions to the town’s development.

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Among the suggestions given by Nandlal were that the corporation should be dismissed, the corporators responsible be barred from contesting polls for the next six years and the head of the revenue department, now retired deputy commissioner V S Joglekar with other officers be tried for dereliction of duty.

As for Pune, the earlier municipal commissioner Arun Bhatia too had in a detailed report given details to the state government on the irregularities of the corporators.