As absurd as it sounds, an RTI query has revealed that in the past two years the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has spent over Rs 17,000 on every pothole that it repaired in the city and suburbs. The reply reveals that it spent over Rs 15 crore to repair 8,879 potholes in this period. But while this seems exorbitant, from 2013 to 2015, it spent over Rs 80 crore on repairing 3,654 potholes. In all, the BMC has spent over Rs 116 crore in the past six years on repairing potholes.

In a reply to an RTI query filed by activist Shakil Shaikh, the BMC has said the actual expenses per pothole are Rs 17,693. "There is a lot of corruption happening in filling up potholes. How can filling one pothole cost over R17,000? It is beyond logic," said Shaikh. He added that though the civic body has spent crores on potholes and claimed to have filled more than 90 per cent this year, the roads are full of them and people have even died due to them.

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