The prolonged delay of nearly two years in conducting elections for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s wealthiest civic body, is anticipated to conclude with elections scheduled to be held this year alongside the Maharashtra assembly elections. Social media is abuzz with discussions about the BMC, with one particularly viral post featuring a newspaper from the Times of India. The headline reads, “Builders plan to meet babus, seek cut in bribe rate,” highlighting the rampant corruption within the BMC. This revelation has sparked widespread criticism on social media, with users holding the ruling Maharashtra NDA government accountable for the state of affairs.
Aam Aadmi Party supporter Arun Arora posted while sharing TOI clippings, ‘By 2024, India will be in top 3 economies. Le 2024.’
Zaru Bhathena shared on X , ‘Hello, I am calling from BMC” B ring. M oney & C ome. My BMC. Mumbai’s Best.’
Dr. Arvind Virmani claimed, ‘Anti-corruption campaigns reduce corruption for few yrs, unless based on comprehensive reform & simplification of relevant laws, rules & regulations and admin procedures. Adding additional laws w/o eliminating earlier ones doesn’t help. I’ve proposed use of #AIexpert #systems.’
Aditya Shah asserted, ‘Builders seek cuts in bribe rates. What a shame for Mumbai this is!’
Congress leader Prashant Kanojia claimed, ‘There is a menu card of bribery in the rule of Shinde and Fadnavis in Maharashtra.’
Aam Aadmi Party leader Preeti Sharma Menon wrote, ‘@mieknathshinde and @Dev_Fadnavis have created such a transparent regime. Bribe rates are published in the newspapers! Wah BMC Wah!’
NCP leader Janak Keshariya wrote, ‘#Bribe amounts paid by #Mumbai #Builders to various #BMC dept.
1. #Concessions & #Fungible #FSI Rs.950 per sq.mt.
2. Amended #Plan #CC Rs.1300
3. Part/Full #OC Rs 2700
4. #TDR Rs.900
5. Letter of Intent Rs.350
6. #Fire #Brigade #NOC Rs.182
7. #Title clearance Rs.2 lakhs
8. Declaration of #Amenity Rs.2.50 lakhs.
What else proof is needed by @mieknathshinde @Dev_Fadnavis @AjitPawarSpeaks & #Muncipal #Commissioner for strict action @mybmc’
Mohandas Pai claimed, ‘How long will Mumbai and India put up with this open Bribe culture! Big shame! When will @Dev_Fadnavis stop this? This is not what our PM @narendramodi will accept for India. Need massive clean up.’
Indian film director and producer Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri stated, ‘B for Bribe. B for Babus. B for Bambai. B for Bechari janta.’
AAP supporter Mr. India wrote, ‘Hey @dir_ed. Without any money trail you have arrested a popular sitting CM since 3 months in a policy where public exchequer benefited. Here bribe rates are openly shared & its hurting public by making homes unaffordable yet you don’t even investigate as its BJP? Shame on you.
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Our investigation commenced with a search for relevant news articles using the keywords from the viral newspaper clipping. This led us to a Times of India article published on October 24, 2024. Although the headline of the online article has been altered to read, “BMC babu bribe rate card for builders: Rs 1,200 per square foot,” the content remains unchanged. Both the viral newspaper and the Times of India article share identical content and were authored by Nauzer Bharucha.
The article reads, ‘Corrupt officials in the BMC’s building proposals department are extorting huge sums from developers to clear legal projects. The situation is such that recently a group of 25 top builders met to decide on approaching senior department officials to seek reasonable bribe rates.
The new development control rules introduced two years ago leave no scope for manipulation or illegality in building plans. So, engineers intentionally delay sanctioning projects to pressure builders to pay up. Any delay in starting a building project could cause severe loss to developers, who procure loans at interest rates as high as 24%.
Sources said the three engineers arrested by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in the E-Ward office in Byculla on Monday had “crossed all limits” in their demands. “The complainant was a small builder, who was at his wits end and was forced to approach the ACB to trap these officers,” said industry insiders.
Our deeper investigation revealed that in 2014, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sunil Prabhu served as the mayor. Currently, Sunil Prabhu is an MLA representing the Dindoshi Assembly constituency under Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena. During the 2012 BMC election, Shiv Sena was united and an alliance partner of the NDA.
Conclusion: The widely circulated newspaper post dates back to October 2014, a period when Sunil Prabhu served as the mayor of the BMC. At that time, he was a politician from the undivided Shiv Sena. Currently, he is an MLA representing the Dindoshi Assembly constituency under Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena.
| Claim | Under the Shinde-Fadnavis administration, BMC officials have brazenly fixed a bribe rate. |
| Claimed by | Indi alliance supporters and other social media users |
| Fact check | Misleading |
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