Thane Municipal Corporation’s 44th anniversary celebrations have come under criticism from NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) district president Manoj Pradhan, who questioned the decision to hold a large celebration while drought-hit farmers were facing hardship. The celebrations were held on Thursday, according to a report by Loksatta.
Pradhan said the civic body should have considered cancelling the event and redirecting funds towards people affected by drought. His criticism comes after the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation cancelled its anniversary programme and allocated Rs 25 lakh for drought-affected farmers, the report said.
The comparison has placed the spending and priority choices of two municipal corporations in the spotlight. Pradhan argued that KDMC has a smaller budget than Thane Municipal Corporation but still took the decision to divert money from its anniversary programme. He said Thane should examine its own decision in light of that move.
Thane Municipal Corporation had not held its anniversary celebrations with similar enthusiasm for the previous four years, the report said. The interruption was attributed to the Covid-19 period and the period of administrative rule in the civic body. After elections were held and the administrative rule ended, the corporation organised the anniversary programme with renewed enthusiasm this year.
Pradhan said the return of elected governance and the gap of four years explained the decision to resume the event, but questioned whether the celebrations should have been held in the same manner against the backdrop of drought. He said cancelling the programme would not have caused significant harm and that the corporation could have considered support for affected farmers instead.
The criticism also referred to the financial position of the two civic bodies. According to the report, Pradhan cited a statement by the Deputy Chief Minister that Thane Municipal Corporation had received the highest funding. He used this to argue that Thane was financially stronger than Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation and therefore had a greater responsibility to demonstrate social sensitivity.
The supplied report does not specify the total cost of Thane’s anniversary celebrations, the amount spent on individual activities or whether the civic body considered allocating funds to drought relief. It also does not include a response from Thane Municipal Corporation or its elected representatives to Pradhan’s allegations.
The dispute highlights how municipal anniversary events can become a question of public accountability when civic spending coincides with a wider agrarian or climate-related crisis. For Thane residents, the immediate issue is not only the event itself but also whether the corporation publishes details of the expenditure and explains the basis for its decision. The report does not state whether any such disclosure or response has been issued.