``Today the very composition of the elected wing has changed. It is made up of only inexperienced and self-seekers who are busy making money and lobbying for builders,'' says a former mayor.

And Satbhaya's murder only reflects the sorry state of affairs in the SMC which has been taken over by vested interests, alleges former mayor Kadir Pirzada, adding that most of the councillors were builders' agents, interested only in getting their projects sanctioned.

Agrees octogenarian trade union leader Kachara Vaghela, who retired from the SMC in 1981. According to him, most of the new breed of councillors consists of self-seekers who are corrupt to the core. Power brings money and money is everything to them, he alleges.

In fact, there is a nexus between councillors, builders and SMC officials. And when Satbhaya tried to fight it she was murdered. ``Whosoever dares to expose or fight the well entrenched group will have to meet the fate of Satbhaya,'' Vaghela predicts.

Pirzada, however, blames the ruling BJP for all ills.``The public gave the BJP the majority to rule, to make a difference. But the councillors created a mess because lack of vision. They do not know how to get their work done or handle officials. In short, a chaotic situation prevails at the moment in SMC,'' he claims.

The majority of the councillors, alleges the former mayor, are only interested in land, projects and tenders in which they get their ``share''. The city too has become cosmopolitan. And with increase in flow of migrant population, and money, the stake of builders' lobby too has increased.

Though the city became synonymous with cleanliness under the BJP rule, the credit goes to S R Rao, says Pirzada, alleging that it was under the BJP rule that major scams involving family members of senior party leaders have been unearthed, following which three senior officials of health department had to be suspended.

The BJP has been lucky to have municipal commissioners like Rao and Jagadeesan, he says, adding, however, that a lot remained to be done.

Former standing committee chairman Narendra Gandhi also admits that the quality of elected representatives has deteriorated over the years, but says there has been some positive changes too.

Earlier, civic chiefs used to confine themselves within the four walls of their chambers but now they do the rounds of the city. This practice was started by Rao and it has paid dividends, he says. Octroi income too has increased. Now capital works are taken seriously, he claims.

However, according to Pirzada the SMC is bankrupt and using money from development fund to run the show.

According to former mayor MadanLal Bunki, even if ``five Satbhaya die fighting for the betterment of SMC, the situation may not improve unless the BJP regime is overthrown.'' But even then there is little hope as the only alternative is the Congress which is as good as the BJP, he claims, alleging that the BJP has imbibed all the vices from the Congress.

However, former mayor Ajit Desai is very optimistic and suggests that the BJP start some crash course for the inexperienced councillors so that they behave like true parliamentarians.