MUMBAI, Sept. 8 -- The delay in distributing essential school supplies such as uniforms, umbrellas, raincoats, shoes, notebooks and school bags to students of BMC schools triggered a heated debate in the BMC House on Monday, with corporators questioning the administration on procurement delays and alleged irregularities in purchases made through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal. Leader of the Opposition Kishori Pednekar raised the issue, pointing out that although three months of the 2026-27 academic year were already over, thousands were yet to receive many of the 27 items provided by the BMC to approximately 3,60,000 students in its schools. "In the peak monsoon, children have been attending school without raincoats or umbrellas, wearing torn and worn-out clothes," she said. "This is extremely shameful for Asia's wealthiest municipal corporation." Pednekar blamed the administration's decision to shift procurement to the GeM portal at the last minute in May and June for the delay, and questioned why the civic administration had failed to take into account the schools' reopening in June. She demanded disciplinary proceedings against senior education department officials responsible for the delay. The Opposition leader also alleged that complaints had emerged regarding the quality and specifications of the supplies, including the number of pages in notebooks. She sought a third-party audit of the GeM procurement within seven days and direct compensation for students affected by the delay, funded through penalties recovered from contractors. Congress group leader Ashraf Azmi flagged the faulty supplies-missing umbrellas, leaking water bottles and ill-fitting footwear. Goregaon corporator Ankit Prabhu also raised concerns over discrepancies in the size of the raincoats and shoes, and added that such a long delay in handing out school supplies was unprecedented. Endorsing the GeM portal, education committee chairperson Rajeshree Shirwadkar noted that the earlier procurement process was vulnerable to misconduct. She highlighted the administration's brief six-month tenure, arguing that systemic flaws could be ironed out while defaulting contractors were held accountable through fines. Leader of the house Ganesh Khankar stated that complaints regarding procurement and supply of school materials had recurred for several years under the very nose of Pednekar's party, the undivided Shiv Sena. Responding to the concerns, additional municipal commissioner (western suburbs) Vipin Sharma assured that steps would be taken to ensure that the process was completed on time from the next year. He said that contractors would be penalised for delays, with a fine of 0.5% of the purchase value being levied for every day of delay....