The seating arrangement in the General Body Hall of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not attracted a single complaint from either citizens or elected members during the past three years. In addition, no changes have been made to the seating arrangement over the last five years, according to information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. This clearly indicates that no complaints regarding any inadequacy in the seating arrangement for councillors have been submitted to the Government.
RTI activist Anil Galgali had sought detailed information regarding the seating arrangement in the BMC General Body Hall. The information was provided by the Office of the Executive Engineer (Headquarters), BMC.
According to the reply, the BMC General Body Hall currently has 237 seats, comprising 227 seats for elected corporators and 10 seats for nominated corporators. The civic body further confirmed that the existing seating arrangement has remained unchanged for the past five years.
Through his RTI application, Galgali had also sought details on the classification of seating for corporators, officials, media personnel, visitors, and other categories, the date from which the present seating arrangement has been in force, and whether any modifications had been made in recent years. However, the BMC stated that these aspects do not fall within the jurisdiction of the concerned department, and therefore the requested information was not available with it.
The RTI application also sought information on complaints received regarding the seating arrangement in the General Body Hall. In its response, the BMC clarified that no complaints have been received from citizens or members concerning the seating arrangement during the last three years.
Commenting on the disclosure, RTI activist Anil Galgali said that the BMC General Body Hall is the highest democratic decision-making forum of Mumbai, and information relating to its infrastructure and administrative arrangements should remain transparent and accessible to the public. He added that the RTI Act continues to play a vital role in promoting transparency, accountability, and informed public participation in governance.
