Activists seek transparency in spending of Thane development funds

THANE: Civic activists and politicians in Thane have demanded greater transparency from the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), calling for a white paper detailing how development funds amounting to several thousands of crores—received over the past 15 years—have been spent. They questioned why, despite this significant financial support from the govts, the city continues to struggle with basic infrastructure and services.The issue was raised by Thane Congress president Vikrant Chavan, who alleged Thane city failed to benefit from the funds, which were meant to drive transformation.“Over the last decade and a half, Thane received approximately ₹16,000 crore in development funds. Yet, residents still face daily hardships due to poor civic facilities,” Chavan said. “We have therefore demanded the Municipal Commissioner issue a white paper detailing the expenditure.”According to Chavan, the funds include ₹2,200 crore from central schemes such as BSUP and JNNURM, ₹1,000 crore under the Smart City Mission, ₹6,500 crore from the previous Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra govt, and the remaining from TMC’s own budget allocations. “With this scale of investment, Thane should have developed into a city like Shanghai. Instead, we are left searching for the promised development?”He highlighted persistent urban challenges such as inefficient waste management, severe traffic congestion, rampant illegal constructions, chronic water shortages, a crumbling drainage network, deteriorating educational infrastructure, and delays in the cluster redevelopment scheme. “All of this points towards stagnation, not development,” Chavan asserted.Meanwhile, citizens—particularly from the Ghodbunder Road stretch, one of the city’s highest tax-paying zones—have echoed these concerns. “Despite paying high property taxes, we rely on irregular water tankers and lack even basic road connectivity. Traffic from the highway is a daily nightmare. Sometimes we think of moving to Mumbai,” said a frustrated Kasarvadavali resident.Chavan further called for a department-wise audit of all completed civic works, scrutinising each stage from tendering to quality checks. He demanded the appointment of an independent committee to verify project status and suggested forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT), similar to the one used for the Mithi River inquiry, if needed. He stated that govt resolutions for all related projects have already been procured and will be used to press for accountability.