Political Recommendations Behind Transfers, Promotions of 225 BMC Employees and Officials; Deputy CM Eknath Shinde Tops List, RTI Reveals

Key Points:

AN RIGHT TO INFORMATION (RTI) activist named Anil Galgali has shed light on the rising number of transfers and promotions of officials and employees taking place over the last year. In an X post shared by Galgali on August 31, 2026, he noted that the governing civic body of Mumbai, Maharashtra, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has received more than 200 such recommendation letters by political leaders.

The information was obtained by Anil Galgali, an active civic activist who has played a key role in exposing several cases of irregularities linked to the BMC, Mumbai Metro, etc. 

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As per Galgali’s X post, the rising number of political recommendations concerning employees and officials has revealed the names of several ministers, MLAs, MPs, and local representatives. Galgali obtained this key information after submitting a query under the Right to Information Act, following which he received a response from the office of the BMC City Engineer. The details shed light on 225 employees or officials who were either transferred or promoted following a nudge from a political figure.  

Galgali’s preliminary analysis further revealed that the name of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde appeared most frequently on the list of politicians. 

Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale has also made it to the list of politicians who have been involved in the transfer and promotion of employees or officials.

BMC Transfers by Ministers, MLA’s, MP’s

In the details obtained by Galgali, the names of some politicians have been repeated multiple times. Eknath Shinde’s name has been mentioned ten times, whereas Ramdas Athawale’s name appears around nine times in the list. Maharashtra’s Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Kalidas Kolambkar have appeared seven times each. “Additionally, Mangesh Kudalkar, Anna Bansode, and Tukaram Kate’s names are each mentioned six times,” the post read.

The names of MLAs Murji Patel and Dilip Lande are repeated five times each. The post further added, “Narhari Zirwal, Sumit Vankhede, Rahul Shewale, Prakash Surve, Indraneel Naik, Santosh Bangar, Ram Kadam, Prakash Surve, Kishan Kathore, and Bacchu Kadu’s names are each mentioned four times.”

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Other names include Minister of Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav, Environment Minister Pankaja Munde, Cabinet Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, and MP Raosaheb Danve, among others. The information obtained through the RTI further states that the officials and employees included in the list are mainly employed as Sub-Engineer (SE), Assistant Engineer (AE), Executive Engineer (EE), and Junior Engineer (JE).

“Transfers in the Municipal Corporation are expected to be based on administrative needs, seniority of service, and transparent criteria,” Galgali said, as quoted by The Times of India. He further stated that disciplinary action should be taken in this matter.

He said, “Therefore, a thorough investigation should be conducted immediately. If any unauthorized interference, pressure or irregular process is found in the transfer process, appropriate action should be taken against the concerned officers and employees as per the provisions of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888.”

This is not the first instance where political recommendations have faced backlash. Earlier in August 2026, RTI activist Santosh Daundhkar raised a similar concern about recommendations made by public representatives concerning municipal engineers. 

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(Edited by Agniva Ray)

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