Mumbai: In an unanticipated reaction to a Right to Information (RTI) application on a data looking for permissions for creating a dining establishment in Andheri, the trustee of city-based NGO, Watchdog Foundation, Godfrey Pimenta was notified by the BMC’s structure proposition (BP) division that the documents is‘missing’
The NGO has actually currently raked up the enduring concern of data supposedly going missing out on inexplicably from the BMC workplaces, significantly hindering openness and liability within the public body’s divisions.
On January 15, Pimenta contacted the workplace of Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, highlighting the federal government’s failing to penetrate right into the issue of missing out on data and declared abnormalities.
In his letter to the Chief Minister’s Office, Pimenta created, “It is shocking that despite explicit directions from the erstwhile CM, Eknath Shinde, to agencies concerned to probe serious allegations regarding nearly 3,000 missing files from the BP department, there appears to be no substantive progress.”
On part of the Industrial Premises Cooperative Society, Pimenta had actually submitted an RTI to acquire approved strategies of Shakuntala Restaurant, situated at Nand Dham Industrial Estate, Marol,Andheri East However, the RTI reaction dated January 2, 2024 by the Public Information Officer, BP (Western Suburbs I) stated that “The File No. GBII/9988/A is not available in this office record (missing file). We regret that the desired information cannot be furnished to you.”
Speaking to the FPJ, Pimenta stated, “The restaurant came up before 2013. However, there are recent complaints of it encroaching mandatory open spaces. I was astonished to get a reply that the file is missing.”
“The information requested under the RTI pertains to the period before 2013 when a major scam emerged about missing files from the BMC’s BP department. The BMC had the opportunity to reconstruct all missing files by gathering information from property owners, the property tax department, the license department, and the fire brigade. However, the lack of willpower within the BMC has hindered the reconstruction of its own records,” Pimenta stated.
“This is not an isolated case. It is a recurring pattern, especially concerning illegal constructions, particularly commercial structures. This indicates a systemic failure and, more disturbingly, a deliberate attempt to shield illegal activities and corruption within the department,” he stated.
In 2013, a minimum of 3,747 data went missing out on from the BMC’s BP division. In 2017, the firm declared to have actually mapped or recreated the majority of the data that went missing out on inexplicably.
Mumbai BJP head of state, MLA Ashish Shelar had actually apparently required cops activity right into the concern and urged that 7,000 data had actually gone missing out on from the division. The FPJ attempted getting in touch with Shelar seeking his discuss the BMC’s missing out on data concern, yet he can not be gotten to.
An elderly policeman from the BP division stated, “Since 2015, all documents have been uploaded online. Everything is digitised and there is no question of files missing.” The policeman, nevertheless, stated he was not knowledgeable about the upgrade on mapping missing out on data as it was an old concern.
