24 contractors barred from BMC work

More than a year after the Rs 150 crore desilting scam broke out, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finally penalised all the 24 indicted contractors blacklisting them for a period of five to six years. For this period, they are not entitled to get any municipal project work, said civic officials.

“All tainted contractors have been issued the final orders of having been blacklisted,” said Laxman Vhatkar, director, engineering (services and projects). “The order says that they have been blacklisted for a period of five or six years and they will not get any civic contracts during this period.”

The contractors were fined for shoddy desilting works, after several city areas were flooded following heavy rains between June 18-19 last year exposing BMC’s claims of good monsoon preparations. Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta had ordered a high-level probe into the matter. The BMC had allotted 32 desilting contracts to 24 contractors in the city.

The probe revealed that there were irregularities in 65 to 70 per cent of the desilting work. Apart from carrying out shoddy desilting works, the contractors also duped the BMC by making false claims and inflating the work cost.

Based on the findings of an interim report, the BMC suspended 14 officials in the scam and filed an FIR against contractors in September 2015.

“Contractors were first issued show cause notices and were given a hearing by the BMC in May-June. After blacklisting, they can appeal to the municipal commissioner for a hearing, after which they can approach the court,” said a senior civic official.