The opposition corporators were protesting against the alleged diversion of budgetary funds amounting to Rs57 crore to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) corporators’ ward.
Shiv Sena and BJP corporators in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Thursday staged an agitation preventing entry of the ruling party corporators and civic officials in the municipal headquarters for about four hours.
The opposition corporators were protesting against the alleged diversion of budgetary funds amounting to Rs57 crore to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) corporators’ ward.
The opposition alleged that the NCP-led standing committee has approved a diversion of Rs57 crore allocated for their wards in the 2011-12 draft budget, for wards in Sangvi and Pimple Gurav under
the supervision of the former standing committee chairman, Prashant Shitole.
Sulabha Ubale, group leader of the Shiv Sena in the house, alleged that the funds allocated for 14 Shiv Sena and BJP corporators, 10 Congress corporators, seven NCP corporators, who support Azam Pansare, and one independent corporator were diverted to the wards in Pimple Gurav and Sangvi areas. Pansare recently quit as the president of the NCP.
Ashok Sonavane, group leader of the BJP in the PCMC, alleged that of the total amount diverted, Rs32 crore were allocated for work at ward-level and another Rs25 crore were allocated for other projects in the draft budget.
“Funds have even been diverted from the wards of Congress corporators although it is an ally of the NCP,” he alleged. Shiv Sena MP from Shirur, Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, who visited the spot, told reporters that he would take up the issue with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and ask him to intervene in the matter.
The opposition leaders said that the standing committee members did not take them into confidence while diverting the funds. They demanded that the supplementary proposals allowing fund diversion should not be implemented.
The civic general body meeting to discuss the draft budget is scheduled on Friday.
Denying the charge Shitole said, “The standing committee members had submitted supplementary proposals for diversion of funds and those proposals have been clubbed together,” he added.
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