Tejas Navale

Pune: Amidst the urgency to address water supply issues faced by common citizens, a disconcerting revelation has surfaced regarding outstanding water bills for government bungalows occupied by high-ranking ministers in Maharashtra. According to recent reports, the water bills for the Chief Minister's residence and those of both Deputy Chief Ministers along with other ministers remain unpaid, accumulating to a staggering sum of Rs. 95 lakhs.

This information came to light following an RTI application filed by activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh, shedding light on the overdue payments not only for the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers but also for several other government bungalows. Among them are ministers Sudhir Mungantiwar, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Dr. Vijaykumar Gavit, Girish Mahajan, Gulabrao Patil, Deepak Kesarkar, and Uday Samant.

The list of outstanding bills paints a concerning picture, with amounts ranging from thousands to lakhs of rupees. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's bungalow, 'Varsha,' has an outstanding bill of 11 lakh 69 thousand, while the residence 'Nandanvan' has an unpaid amount of 18 lakh 48 thousand. Other ministers like Devendra Fadnavis, Deepak Kesarkar, Uday Samant, Sudhir Mungantiwar, and Ajit Pawar also feature on the list, with varying amounts owed for water usage.

This list of names of ministers and their houses, along with the due water bill amount, is as follows:

 1. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde: Varsha: 11,69,000

 2. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde: Nandanvan: 18,48,000

 3. Deepak Kesarkar: Ramtek: 11,30,000

 4. Uday Samant: Muktagiri: 6,83,000

 5. Sudhir Mungantiwar: Parnkuti: 6,52,000

 6. Dr. Vijayakumar Gavit: Chitrakoot: 5,19,000

 7. Ajit Pawar: Devagiri: 4,38,000

 8. Devendra Fadnavis: Meghdoot: 2,73,000

 9. Devendra Fadnavis: Sagar: 1,26,000

 10. Gulabrao Patil: Jetwan: 1,18,000

 11. Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil: Royalstone: 92,000

This revelation has sparked criticism, with many questioning the apparent double standard in justice by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)—one for common citizens and another for political leaders. The delay in addressing these overdue bills has raised concerns about accountability and transparency within the government's financial management.

It remains to be seen when the BMC will take action to recover the outstanding water bills from these ministers.