Mumbai: BMC Reinstates 96 Suspended Employees Facing Criminal And Corruption Charges Ahead Of Elections, RTI Reveals

Mumbai: The BMC's recent RTI reply reveals that 96 civic employees suspended due to criminal and corruption charges were reinstated in March. While 19 of these has pending criminal cases, the remaining 77 are implicated under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Since 2020, the BMC has conducted five suspension review meetings, with the latest on March 27, 2024, resulting in the reinstatement of 96 suspended employees, according to RTI documents obtained by activist Jeetendra Ghadge.

Among the reinstated, 77 were accused of corruption, with 28 placed in the engineering department, 13 in chief engineer roles within solid waste management, nine under the licensing superintendent, and five in the health department.

Additional reinstated employees were placed in various positions, including different ward offices, Cooper Hospital, Sion Hospital, the tax assessor's office, the fire brigade, the water, garden and the markets department.

The other officers accused in criminal cases, 12 were reinstated in the solid waste management department and two in the personnel department, with others placed in the engineering department, water department, Sewri Tuberculosis Hospital, KEM Hospital, and the security office. Notably, none have been convicted, as they are still undergoing trial, according to RTI documents.

A civic official stated, "The municipal commissioner decides on reinstatements based on individual case status during review meetings. Officers suspended for years with pending cases are assigned to non-executive roles, limiting public interaction. Convicted officials are immediately dismissed."

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Ghadge criticised the lack of action from the civic authorities to address corruption, emphasising that reinstating these officials just before elections raises concerns, particularly since they were involved in election duties.