Following allegations of discrepancies in its accounts and audit system, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is all set to tie-up with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to review its accounting and audit procedures.

Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta confirmed that the agreement will be signed soon. The 8-month contract will cost BMC Rs 1 crore.

Since 2014, MNS corporator Sandeep Deshpande and NCP corporator Dhananjay Pisal have been pointing at discrepancies in the irregularity in BMC’s closing and opening balance, accounts and its failure to submit the audit reports to the standing committee every month.

BMC’s accounts book show Rs 10 crores to be in suspense accounts this year.

Mehta said, “We agree that there has been a delay in the submission of monthly reports since 2007. However, we are rectifying the glitch in the system. We will be submitting monthly reports starting October this year. As far as suspense accounts are concerned, no big corporation can function without a separate category as such.”

With a budget of Rs 37,000 crore, a sum larger than the budget of some states in the country, citizens have also argued that the BMC’s financial management is complex and needs to be simplified. BMC has also been under the radar for spending only 30 per cent of its budget. #casansaar (Hindustan Times)