# BMC holds Rs 79,873 crore in FDs as Opposition questions Rs 13,775 crore withdrawals 2026-10-21T21:31:35+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets A heated exchange broke out at the BMC Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday, 21 October, over the withdrawal of Rs 13,775 crore from the civic body's fixed deposits between 2021 and March 2026, during the administrator's tenure. Congress group leader Ashraf Azmi slammed a quarterly FD report as incomplete and demanded a detailed account of the spending, warning that continued withdrawals could deplete the BMC's reserves and leave no funds for Mumbai's development. Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde revealed the BMC still holds Rs 79,873 crore in FDs across various banks. Ruling party leader Ganesh Khankar said the withdrawn money was used only for development works and would not be misused under the current dispensation. Shinde directed officials to present a detailed FD account at the next committee meeting, making it clear the report would not be approved without a comprehensive presentation. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both Freepress Journal and Times of India report the same facts and quotes, with no discernible slant: each leads with the Opposition's demand and the ruling party's defence, attributes the Rs 13,775 crore withdrawal figure and Rs 79,873 crore balance identically, and records the chairman's directive for a detailed account at the next meeting. The coverage is uniform straight reporting of a procedural clash, with no outlet omitting or privileging a side. The next committee meeting will test whether the administration provides the comprehensive account Shinde has demanded. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - freepressjournal.in (neutral report) Straight news report with both sides quoted, no editorial slant. - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight news report with both sides quoted, no editorial slant. This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Ashraf Azmi, BMC, Mumbai, Prabhakar Shinde, Standing Committee Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bmc-holds-rs-79873-crore-in-fds-as-opposition-questions-rs-13775-crore-withdrawals/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bmc-holds-rs-79873-crore-in-fds-as-opposition-questions-rs-13775-crore-withdrawals/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/