MUMBAI: After deputy mayor Sanjay Ghadi sought accommodation at the Rani Baug bungalow, citing his long commute from Dahisar to south Mumbai and heavy traffic, the bungalow was instead allotted to Additional Municipal Commissioner Avinash Dhakane.Now, the BMC is preparing to induct brand-new Toyota Innova Crysta vehicles for the Leader of the House, the Leader of the Opposition and chairpersons of statutory committees.The BMC is set to propose replacing Mahindra Scorpio-N SUVs used by key elected office-bearers with six new Toyota Innova Crysta vehicles, citing demands from political leaders for greater comfort during long commutes and official inspections.The ?1.5-crore proposal covers the Deputy Mayor, Leader of the House, Leader of the Opposition, and chairpersons of the Standing, Improvements and Education Committees. The move follows the allotment of Toyota Innova Hycross Hybrid vehicles to Mayor Ritu Tawde and Additional Municipal Commissioners.Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde said some committee chairpersons come from far-off suburbs such as Dahisar, Kandivali and Borivali.“There is no separate tender being called for the vehicles and instead, the chairpersons have only asked for another kind of vehicle instead of what has been provided to them,” she said.Opposition party leader in the BMC Kishori Pednekar said she had not made any demand to change her official vehicle.“I was given a Scorpio vehicle since I was appointed leader of the opposition earlier this year. These are new cars and there’s no need to change the same,” she said.However, Mayor Tawde hit back at Pednekar, saying that she had earlier agreed to the change of vehicle but had now changed her stance.A BMC official said no additional money was proposed to be spent on the purchase of these cars.“BMC had purchased Scorpio vehicles for a five-year period. In that, some of the cars were given to committee heads and the rest were given to ward officers. However, some ward officers couldn’t get the new cars and had to go back to using the old cars. Hence, the plan is to give the Scorpios that will be changed for the Innova Crysta cars to the ward-level officials who were using the old cars,” the official said.Currently, only the BMC chief uses an electric vehicle.Ganesh Khankar, BJP party leader, said, “We had made a demand to the BMC in the group leaders’ meeting for a change in the cars.”
