Uddhav Thackeray's Office Clarifies On Pending Water Bills

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's two official residences do not have any water bill pending, the CMO said and dismissed an RTI-based news report in this regard.

As per a report submitted by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), the (bill) arrears of both ''Varsha'' and ''Torna'' bungalows of the CM are ''Nirank'' (blank), the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a release.

The CMO further stated that a news report claiming that the water bills of Chief Minister's official residences ''Varsha'' and the adjoining ''Torna'' are pending, is not based on facts.

"The office of the Water Works Department of the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation has given a report of outstanding in this regard. It clarifies the fact that the arrears of these two bungalows are non-existent," the release said.

Earlier in the day, a city-based RTI activist claimed that a collective water bill of about Rs 24.56 lakh was pending with the official bungalows of the Chief Minister, deputy Chief Minister and other ministers of the state cabinet.

The activist had claimed that ''Varsha'' bungalow has the total water bill arrears of Rs 24,916, while ''Devgiri'', the official residence of deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, defaulted the water bill of Rs 1,35,300.