Members of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) standing committee have demanded a white paper from the civic administration on Wednesday, seeking details about the proposed plan of raising funds through 'Municipal Bonds'.
After facing heavy financial constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BMC is now planning to raise funds from the markets by floating financial bonds and investing in big-ticket projects. Senior civic officials stated that the project is in the development stage and the details on the issue will be revealed during the announcement of the civic budget in February.
Meanwhile, public representatives and standing committee members stated that the BMC has not consulted with them regarding this matter and the policy must be tabled in front of the standing committee before approval.
“BMC has planned to raise Rs 4,000 crore through bonds, but we have no idea about this. The civic body must provide us every detail before they float the bonds in the market,” said Rais Shaikh, standing committee member, and Samajwadi Party corporator.
Shaikh also stated, despite repeated attempts, the administration has not given any details regarding its expenditures of the previous year.
“There is no transparency in the financial policies. We are yet to get a clear picture of last year's revenue and expenditures,” Shaikh added.
Prabhakar Shinde, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) group leader in BMC and standing committee member, said that the public representatives have been kept in the dark by the municipal body.
“The municipal commissioner gave the idea of financial bonds to the mayor. The mayor, instead of holding a discussion with the group leaders, gave her approval on the matter,” said Bhalchandra Shirsat, senior BJP corporator and standing committee member.
Senior civic officials stated that they are expecting an interest rate of 6 to 6.5 per cent from the bonds as BMC's financial credibility is good.
