BMC women corporators outperform male counterparts: report

Mumbai, Aug 30 (PTI) Women corporators of BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation have performed slightly better thantheir male counterparts in 2015-16 period, an annual reportcard brought out by a city-based NGO said today. Praja Foundation also found that currently 53corporators, out of the total 223, have criminal cases filedagainst them. Of these, criminal cases were filed against 28after they became corporators (in the bygone polls). The NGOalso claimed that charge sheet was filed against 39corporators till December 2015. "An analysis of performance on the basis of gender hasfound that women corporators outperformed their malecounterparts. In BMC, which has an equal number of male andfemale corporators, the latter scored 62.80 per cent in the2015-16, while their male corporators could secure 61.11 percent marks," the report said. The corporators were judged on several parameters,including their attendance, number of questions asked in theHouse, importance of questions, quality of questions, criminalrecord and perceived performance. The organisation, which works on civic issues, cameout with its report card today. The BMC is scheduled to go topolls next year. In terms of partywise performance in the last fouryears (2012-13 to 2015-16), corporators of BJP topped thescore card by securing 63.1 per cent marks, followed by NCPcorporators (60.86%) and Shiv Sena members (60.51%). The NGO also released individual score card of thecorporators, in which Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s SantoshDhuri stood first by securing 83.47 per cent marks, followedby two Shiv Sena members — Hemangi Chemburkar (81.27 percent) and Prajakta Vishwasrao (81.17 per cent). Shiv Sena’s Rahul Shewale, who was elected as an MP inthe 2014 Lok Sabha polls but also continues to be acorporator, got the lowest rank of 223rd in the report. The NGO alleged "complete disengagement" betweencorporators and citizens over civic issues. Managing Trustee of Praja Foundation, Nitai Mehtasaid, "In the last four years 25,060 people died due to TB,dengue cases have gone up by 213 per cent and in thesedeteriorating circumstances, the elected representatives askedonly 39 questions on TB." "In 2010-11, there were 4,37,863 children studying inthe civic schools, and this number has reduced to 3,97,085 in2014-15, which shows the dismal enrolment in the civicschools. Moreover, there has been a rise in the dropout ratesalso, even as the budget for education has gone up fromRs 1,761 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 2,630 crore in 2015-16," shesaid. PTI APM NP ASVPTP