Pune Municipal Corporation corporators will contribute one month’s honorarium to the Chief Minister’s Drought Relief Fund after a proposal triggered a political dispute at the civic body’s general body meeting.
BJP corporators Dhiraj Ghate and Yogesh Mulik initially moved a proposal seeking a year’s honorarium from all corporators for drought relief to farmers. Opposition parties supported assistance for drought-hit farmers but objected to the proposal being introduced without prior consultation among party leaders.
Leader of Opposition Nilesh Nikam of the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Ajit Pawar proposed that his party’s corporators contribute one month’s honorarium instead. The BJP later moved a separate proposal for its own corporators to contribute a year’s honorarium, which was unanimously approved. The final decision taken by the House was for all corporators to contribute one month’s honorarium.
Congress group leader Chandu Kadam said his party supported assistance for farmers but accused the BJP of attempting to gain political advantage from the issue. He said the mayor should have called a meeting of all party leaders before bringing the proposal before the general body.
Nikam questioned the ruling party’s authority to take a decision on behalf of all parties without consultation and alleged that other corporators had been taken for granted. Deputy Mayor Parshuram Wadekar, meanwhile, accused Congress corporators of opposing the drought relief fund.
The meeting also saw a disagreement over the bonus due to civic employees. Congress corporator Sunil Shinde raised the issue, while Ghate objected that employee bonuses should not be discussed amid the drought crisis.
Separately, PMC Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram has suggested that the civic body contribute Rs 5 crore towards assistance for drought-hit farmers. The report did not specify whether the commissioner’s proposal had been approved.
