At a time when complete lockdown was imposed throughput country and all hotels, restaurants and transportation were closed to stay indoors, PR agencies kept footing dubious bills running in lakhs every month to squeeze money from MMRDA, which authority hire for upgrading its public image, despite the fact that it had already a full fledged PR department. Without cross-verifying the bills, MMRDA kept remitting the huge amount of money to the agency, as agreed in agreement.
An RTI filed by activist Anil Galgali showing that when the pace of work in government and other authorities were too slow during the complete lockdown period from March to May 2020, private PR agency footed bills running over 21 lakhs and MMRDA generously cleared the bills. In its RTI response, MMRDA has informed Anil Galgali that Rs 5.21 crore were paid to the PR agency in the last two years.
After getting some clue about rampant corruption going within MMRDA, Galgali filed an RTI seeking various information about the PR agencies hired by MMRDA. The MMRDA informed Anil Galgali that after the approval of the then Metropolitan Commissioner R. A. Rajiv, named M/s Mercantile Advertising and PR Agency was hired from 15th July 2019, months after he took over as administrative head. This agency had no previous record of handling media and a few personnel hired by this agency had no background of handling PR and journalistic activities.
Commenting on this, Galgali pointed out that when there was a complete lockdown in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, the PR agency was procuring bills as expensed incurred in over 21 lakh every month and this is matter of probe. Even MMRDA's administration department without verifying the bills, remitted the money. This money were splurged lavishly on private agency despite that fact that MMRDA have an independent and full-fledged public relations department and it spends Rs 1.50 lakh per month on 2 officers and Rs 25,000 on contract employees. Not only this, the PR agency was given a big cabin in free of cost at the 6th floor of MMRDA building for which no monthly rent were charged. No officer objected this rent-free accommodation to PR agency.
"In my views, the MMRDA could have spent this public money on the projects used by public or upgrading its in-house PR department. But, MMRDA chose to benefit a private PR agency, which is nothing but a clear cut case of corruption, which I demand to investigate," Galgali reacted.
Moreover, Galgali has questioned the unwarranted expenditure of crores of rupees on private agency expressed surprise that on the one hand, the MMRDA facing shortage of funds, and on the other hand crores of rupees are still being spent on private PR agencies. Anil Galgali, in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, MMRDA Chairman Eknath Shinde and Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas, has demanded a fair probe into this alleged corruption, besides putting permanent ban on private PR agencies.
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