A senior BMC officer spent over Rs. one crore on the renovation and maintenance of his official bungalow in posh Malabar Hills, a RTI query has found.
Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, an IAS officer posted as Additional Municipal Commissioner in BMC, incurred a total expense of Rs 1.0044 crore on the bungalow since January 2015, according to the reply furnished by BMC’s Water Supply Department to RTI activist Anil Galgali.
The expense includes maintenance charges, expenditure on renovation, electricity bills etc.
Galgali also claimed that Mukherjee tried to hinder this information.
“Initially, the IAS officer issued verbal instructions to the department to not provide the information sought. But since there is no provision in the RTI Act enabling the Public Information officer to conceal information on the grounds of verbal orders, the PIO of the department provided details on the bungalow allotted to Mukherjee,” Galgali said.
The bungalow admeasuring 2682 sq.ft was a guest house before being alloted as a residence to Mukherjee, after obtaining permission from the Municipal Commissioner in January last year, the reply said.
“I have written a letter to Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and demanded an inquiry into the lavish lifestyle of the officer,” he said.
Despite repeated attempts, Mukherjee could not be reached for comments.
