Mumbai: The BMC plans to allocate Rs 540 crore for desilting nullahs and the Mithi River over the next two years. While cleaning of minor drains is set to begin in mid-March, work on major nullahs may face delays due to bids exceeding the BMC’s estimated rates by 4 to 9 percent.
While the negotiations with bidders are ongoing, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has raised serious allegations, accusing contractors and civic officials of conspiring to embezzle crores of rupees through desilting work in several years.
According to the BMC’s policy, 75% of silt is removed before the monsoon, while 15% is removed during the rainy season. It is estimated that around three lakh metric tonnes of silt is removed from nullahs annually. Last year, the BMC spent Rs 248 crore on nullah desilting.
Every year, the BMC appoints a contractor for the desilting work, but this process takes time, causing delays in the completion of the work. To address this issue and ensure timely completion, the civic official claims that they have decided to appoint a contractor for a two-year term.
Bala Nandgaonkar, a leader of the MNS has alleged that the BMC has included a clause in the tender for desilting work in the Mithi River that requires the deployment of an excavator machine with a 35-meter long boom and a 1.5-cubic meter capacity bucket.
“This clause appears to be a strategic move designed to favor certain companies by restricting eligibility to those that can provide such specific machinery. As a result, it could give an unfair advantage to select companies, effectively excluding others from participating in the bidding process. This, in turn, may lead to a financial loss of at least Rs 200 crore for the municipal corporation.”
In a letter written to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, Nandgaonkar has requested to investigate the history of companies that have submitted bids with higher rates, examining how much they have profited in the past.
“A thorough inquiry into this matter should be conducted by setting up a Special Investigation Team (SIT). If the owners of these companies are found guilty, their companies should be blacklisted, and criminal charges should be filed against them. This will ensure accountability and help prevent such fraudulent activities in the future, safeguarding the proper use of public funds,” he added.
A senior civic official said, “We are negotiating with the contractors and the contract for desilting of major nullahs and Mithi river has not been awarded yet.”
