The Opposition on July 21 said Mumbai's guardian Ministers setting up offices in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters has set a wrong precedent and is an act of encroachment of rights of civic bodies.
The issue was raised in the Maharashtra Assembly by Nationalist Congress Party's Jayant Patil.
He said the Bharatiya Janta Party's Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who is the guardian Minister of Mumbai suburbs, has set up his office in one of the BMC cabins.
"I was the guardian Minister of this city and opening an office in the civic body is encroaching on the rights of the civic body. There is no elected representative in the BMC and the government has to keep more distance from the local self government bodies to ensure their independence," Mr. Patil said.
"The BMC commissioner can be summoned to the Minister's office, but setting up an office is a wrong precedent," the senior NCP leader asserted.
Targeting the State government, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said the market committee and education committee chairperson's cabins have been given to two guardian Ministers.
"What was the reason behind it? Do they want to build towers there?” Mr. Thackeray said in an apparent dig at Mr. Lodha whose family is into the realty business.
"This is a wrong precedent as the duties of Ministers and local self-government are different. There is no mayor or public representatives in the BMC now (due to civic body's term ending last year). The move is to indulge in scams," Mr. Thackeray alleged.
Mr. Thackeray said if guardian Ministers are given cabins in the BMC, then all mayors in the State must get offices in Mantralaya (State Secretariat) and Mumbai MLAs must be provided offices in the civic headquarters.
