Mumbai:
Anti-Corruption Bureau RTI documents reveal that 207 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officers and employees have been named as accused. Among them, 112 remain in active service, while 68 retired before their cases reached a final verdict.
These figures, covering the period up to April 30, 2026, cast a serious shadow over the slow pace of investigations and the effectiveness of administrative actions against accused officials in the BMC – one of the wealthiest municipal bodies in the country.
Shockingly, out of the 207 accused, only 27 officers or employees have been suspended, the RTI revealed. This means approximately 87 percent of the accused are either still employed or retired before the investigation concluded, raising questions about the system of accountability.
“Out of 207 accused individuals, only 27 are suspended, while 112 remain in service, and 68 officers and employees retired before their cases could be adjudicated. This system sends a wrong message to society. The objective of anti-corruption laws is being undermined by delays in investigations. Corruption cases should not turn into a ‘retirement plan’ where accused officials simply bide their time. There must be a fixed timeline for the disposal of every ACB case; decisions regarding prosecution sanction should be taken promptly; and the action taken in corruption cases must be completely transparent,” Jeetendra Ghadge, an activist with The Young Whistleblowers Foundation, said.
The activist demanded an independent inquiry by the Maharashtra government and the concerned investigative agencies into the reasons why investigations remained pending for so many years despite cases having been registered by the ACB.
The RTI data also reveals that numerous corruption-related cases have been pending for years. The oldest pending ACB case dates back to 2005, and in some instances, no final decision has been reached even after more than two decades.
Anti-corruption activists argue that this reflects not merely isolated incidents of bribery, but a serious failure of the investigative system.
According to the RTI findings, the BMC’s Engineering Department is the most affected by corruption cases. The officials involved in ACB cases include:
– 33 Sub-Engineers
– 13 Assistant Engineers
– 13 Junior Engineers
– Several Executive Engineers and senior engineering officials.
This situation is a matter of grave concern, given that this department is responsible for projects worth thousands of crores of rupees involving roads, drains, buildings, and other infrastructure.
The RTI data also dispels the notion that corruption is confined solely to senior officials. Among the Class IV employees implicated in ACB cases are:
– 48 sanitation workers
– 24 laborers
– 6 supervisors (Mukadams)
– 6 peons
In addition to these, several other field staff are also under investigation.
This highlights that allegations of corruption permeate the administration, extending from the top echelons down to the grassroots level.
According to RTI data, five proposals seeking sanction for prosecution in bribery-related trap cases are pending, as is a proposal regarding a case of disproportionate assets. Some of these proposals have remained in “in-progress” status since 2024.
Criminal proceedings cannot effectively move forward without prosecution sanction. Consequently, there are concerns that the accused officials are benefiting from these administrative delays.
The RTI disclosure also revealed that 43 previously suspended BMC employees were reinstated during the Covid-19 pandemic, citing the need for personnel at quarantine centers and for emergency services.
However, the BMC refused to disclose the names of these employees, citing exemptions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The BMC maintains that revealing the names could compromise ongoing criminal or departmental inquiries.
This revelation has raised questions about whether the public health crisis was used as a pretext to reinstate employees facing serious allegations.
