Every second candidate contesting the upcoming assembly polls has not studied beyond Class 12, and a fifth of them have serious criminal cases, according to a report by NGO Association of Democratic Reforms and MumbaiVotes.com.
The report also threw up some interesting figures: elite constituencies such as Malabar Hill and Colaba have the most candidates who have not studied beyond school. Nearly half or 47% of all candidates have assets worth several crores.
Of the Rs. 7.75crore an MLA receives for development work in the constituency, an average of 21% was used for toilets and 15% for better drainage systems, the report showed. However, citizens said many of these toilets were not functional.
“The MLAs are using their funds to build public toilets, but these are either out of use or poorly maintained. The toilets are built in slums, in a bid to woo the people who live there,” said James John, an AGNI activist and Andheri resident.