BJP’s tablet plan for 237 Mumbai corporators hits procurement hurdle

The BJP's plan to provide tablet devices to all 237 corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has hit a procurement hurdle. The civic administration says it may not be able to buy the Chinese-made tablets through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, as the specific models are not listed there. BMC had recently mandated procurement only through GeM.

BJP functionary Ganesh Khankar said the intent was to encourage paperless work and reduce paper wastage. He added that if the devices cannot be procured via GeM, the party would not support the purchase, as it was the BJP-led government that insisted on using the portal. The Shiv Sena (UBT) had opposed the move from the start. Former mayor Kishori Pednekar questioned the need for tablets when all corporators already have smartphones, and said she prefers paper agendas to avoid later changes.

The tablets were meant to provide corporators access to meeting agendas and documents through a dedicated application. BMC currently prints large volumes of paper for its various committees and meetings.