Mumbai: Ex-corporator booked for not distributing bins worth Rs 7 lakh

The dustbins that were found by the civic team in a building at Devipada in Borivli East

An FIR has been filed against Geeta Singhan, a former corporator from Borivli who is affiliated with the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), for not distributing dustbins that were meant for her ward a few years ago. Corporators receive funds from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to distribute dustbins, within a financial year, to residents in order to segregate waste at the household level. But it was found that in the R Central Ward, bins that were bought four to five years ago were still in storage.

As per the FIR - which was filed by an engineer employed by the BMC in the Kasturba Marg police station on Wednesday - after receiving complaints about the illegal storage of dustbins in a Slum Rehabilitation Authority building at Devipada in Borivali East, he visited the spot along with senior officials. The FIR states, "We found dustbins in three galas (storage units that sometimes function as shops) which belong to Ashapura Option Pvt Ltd on the ground and first floor and it was clear that they were bought with the corporator's funds of Singhan, who was the corporator of ward no. 12 in 2017-18 and 2018-19."

The BMC informed the police that 1,675 10-litre blue dustbins, 1,619 10-litre green dustbins and 3,041 10-litre white dustbins were found at the spot. There were also 111 blue and 134 green bins of a 20-litre capacity and 56 blue and 22 green bins of a 240-litre capacity. The total cost of the 3,921 bins is approximately R7 lakh. The FIR states that the bins were meant to be distributed to residents of ward no. 12 in 2017-18 and 2018-19, but the corporator and Ashapura Option Pvt Ltd had indulged in financial misappropriation by keeping them in storage.

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Prakash Vichare, assistant commissioner of R Central Ward, said the police were looking into the case. Anil Avhad, senior inspector of Kasturba Marg police station, said, "As per the legal procedure, the charge sheet will be filed. The offence is bailable." Singhan told mid-day that the dustbins couldn't be handed out as they lacked radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips. "I even communicated with the BMC about providing chips so that they could be distributed to citizens," she said.

When asked her to share her correspondence with the BMC, she said she didn't have it at the moment. RFID tags are used to check if bins have been processed and locate them when misplaced. Magathane MLA Prakash Surve, a member of the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, said, "There are many dustbins worth lakhs of rupees. The police have filed an FIR against Singhan. Some corporators even put fake names of beneficiaries in the list of laptops that are distributed. Soon an FIR will be filed against them too."

Nayan Kadam, general secretary of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanded a detailed audit when it comes to the distribution of photocopying machines, laptops, sewing machines, idli-dosa grinders and dustbins by councillors under welfare schemes. "Two-stage audits should be done - one by the BMC administration and the other by a reputable private firm. The civic body should bring out a white paper on the final findings of both these audits. Corporators found indulging in malpractices should be dealt with stringently and must be barred from contesting polls for a minimum of six years," he added. The MNS leader further stated that any public representative found guilty should be put behind bars for misappropriation of funds and cheating voters.

3,921
No of bins that were found in storage