The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has got the green signal to appoint those contractors who’ve been blacklisted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in an alleged road repair scam. The advocate general (AG) — whose opinion the MMRDA had sought — has said that the development authority can’t take a call on blacklisting the ‘tainted’ contractors based on the BMC’s decision, adding that MMRDA needs to keep an eye on the performance of the contractors concerned.
The MMRDA had written a letter last month to the AG asking if it can consider the bids submitted by the blacklisted firms. “The AG has given the opinion that we should not reject the bids of the contractors just because the BMC has blacklisted them. The AG also said that we should consider the orders of various courts across the country on cases wherein such a situation had arisen,” said Sanjay Khandare, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA.
Two of the ‘tainted’ contractors, J Kumar Infra and Relcon Infraprojects, had recently bagged a project worth thousands of crores for Metro projects. The BMC had blacklisted these companies for their alleged shoddy road repair work. The MMRDA subsequently appointed J Kumar Infra for construction work on the Dahisar-Andheri Metro 7 corridor. It has also shortlisted J Kumar Infra for the construction of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) connecting Sewri to Nhava, MMRDA sources said. A final nod, however, is still required from JICA, which is funding around Rs 13,500 crore for MTHL.
The BMC had filed police complaints against six contractors allegedly involved in the road scam. These firms had been booked under several sections of the IPC, following which the BMC blacklisted them.
When contacted, acting AG Rohit Deo said, “I cannot comment on the matter.”
