80% of BMC staffers charged in graft, criminal cases still on rolls

Times of India: Mumbai: Monday, October 07, 2019

A BMC engineer of the building proposal department, who was convicted along with two other engineers and sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment last August for accepting Rs 15 lakh as bribe from a builder, is back in service after he challenged the order in the Bombay high court. He is not alone several BMC employees facing serious corruption cases have been reinstated in service pending the completion of their trials.

Data obtained by TOI through the Right To Information Act shows that the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) has nabbed hundreds of BMC employees red-handed over the last two decades accepting bribes, but in more than half the cases the agency has failed to prove the charges in court, or stop the accused from getting a stay on his or her conviction.

The RTI information showed that though nearly 600 BMC employees faced serious corruption and criminal cases in the last 18 years, including charges linked to negligence in the Kamala Mills fire and sexual assault of minors in BMC schools, not more than 54 have been dismissed from service. Of the rest, 72 are on suspension and a few others have retired with their cases still pending, but the rest who make up nearly 80% continue in service.

Former ACB director general Praveen Dixit said 50% of ACB cases fall apart in the court because complainants turn hostile during trial. In others, the accused get acquitted on benefit of doubt or due to delay in the trial.

Corrupt civic staff continue to serve as complainants don’t follow through

Sunil Rathod is an executive engineer in BMC’s building proposal wing, based out of the E-Ward (Byculla) office. There’s nothing unusual about his daily routine he goes about his work like the thousands of other engineers employed in civic administration except that he is a man convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for demanding a bribe of Rs 25 lakh from a builder.

Rathod has managed to stay put in service despite such a stringent judicial order because he went in appeal. There are five others against whom dismissal orders have been issued by the BMC chief; they too remain in service because the order is merely the first step in a long-drawn-out process, which involves the issuing of show-cause notices and a scrutiny of their replies. Essentially, sacking of government staff through judicial or administrative action is a process riddled with complexities.

Even if their trial is on, under the rules, they do not face departmental action which means they are entitled to all benefits as well as increments and promotions. There are 42 such employees who draw full benefits on their jobs despite facing ACB cases.

“BMC cannot keep someone under suspension for more than 12 months, and after that it has to reinstate them in service,” said a retired deputy municipal commissioner. There are rules to deal with such cases and they allow civic staff facing corruption or criminal charges to return to service pending trial, he added.

Civic officials said the BMC commissioner has powers to decide on department action including dismissal and demotion but such action often depends on the outcome of the BMC’s internal preliminary enquiry (PE) findings, and the PE can take years to complete. For instance, after the Kamala Mills fire of 2017, the BMC is yet to award punishment to officials held responsible for negligence that led to the incident that killed 14 persons.

Former municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar said, “It’s not good to keep them in the department...in cases where officials have been convicted, they should be immediately removed from service.”

Former ACB director general Praveen Dixit said the chances of corruption in BMC are higher compared to other departments, considering the high stakes involved. He suggested a thorough review in order to adopt corrective measures. “The BMC’s building proposal (BP) department is allegedly the most corrupt, considering the amount of money involved. But there are very few complainants. At present, the entire focus is on scrutinizing building proposals that are submitted, which results in delays, giving rise to corruption. Instead of such a procedure, let a building’s architect authenticate the proposal and let him be held accountable for any negligence, followed by penal action,” Dixit added.

During his tenure, ACB had encouraged citizens to come forward to lodge complaints against corrupt officials in a free and fair manner, he said.

An assistant municipal commissioner said most ACB cases occur because of disputes between corrupt officials and complainants over bribe amounts. He said after getting officials arrested by ACB, complainants don’t even bother to follow up, which results in acquittals. Former ACB officials too cited similar reasons for poor conviction, adding that delays in trials also weaken such cases.