Maharashtra govt tables bill to increase nominated councillors in BMC from 5 to 10

The Maharashtra government on Monday presented a bill in the assembly proposing an increase in the number of nominated councillors from five to 10 in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation.

The move will help the ruling party to accommodate additional people from their group as councillors in BMC.

Bharatiya Janata Party had been talking about bringing in the change for long.

What does the bill say?

The bill was tabled in Assembly by Industry Minister Uday Samant. The bill says, "A person having knowledge and experience in the Municipal Administration is nominated as a councillor for more effective administration of municipal corporations in state. With a view to qualitatively improve the function of the corporations by utilizing the knowledge and experience of the members nominated, the government considers it expedient to increase the number of nominated members from five to ten, in municipal corporation of Brihan Mumbai."

With the passage of this bill, the government will get authority to nominate five additional councillors in BMC.

Upcoming BMC polls crucial

The upcoming BMC elections are very important for state politics. The saffron party is doing all it can to win the polls.

Generally, nominated councillors are appointed after political consideration. It is common practice to pacify rebels using the post ahead of polls; it helps accomodating people in post-election scenario [if there is a coalition government]. The post could also be offered to important party workers.

Reactions to the bill

Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar welcomed the bill. He said, "This would help BMC administration to improve the quality of the business. It will get more knowledgeable persons to participate in decision making process."

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena UBT leader Sunil Prabhu said his party will reveal its stand on the floor of the house during discussion.