Mumbai: Aaditya wants BMC chief to be probed for corruption

Former cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said he handed over to Governor Ramesh Bais a list of scams under BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal and demanded a probe by Lokayukta ldquoWe have highlighted the corruption in road repair works and many others Tenders in all these works were given to select few contractorsrdquo he told reportersThere have been multiple scams under Iqbal Singh Chahal the administrator of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC alleged Thackeray after meeting the governor on Wednesday The former environment minister targeted Chahal over the tenders issued this year alleging inflation of cost for the works to favour certain contractorsAaditya Thackeray along with Sena UBT leaders on WednesdayldquoThere is a scam of Rs 6000crore in road repair works Then there is a scam in the work issued for street furniture for which the BMC is spending R100 crore above the actual cost which is about R160 crore Overall the BMC is spending Rs 263 crore on street furniture workrdquo Thackeray allegedAlso Read Two Royal Bengal tiger cubs 3 penguin chicks to become available for public viewing at Mumbai zoo from May 11lsquoGravel shortagersquoldquoAlso there is a scam in gravel supply The gravel used for construction is also being forced to be bought from a certain company BMC chief Chahal is responsible for all these scams The tenders have been issued to a few favourite contractors at high costsldquoThe state government is working in a way that will benefit the contractors We have shared all the relevant information with the governor and demanded an inquiry into the scamsrdquo Thackeray saidBMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal PicShadab KhanHe further alleged that the gravel scam ldquobrought some works that had already started to a grinding halt I have extensively spoken and written about these Because of the gravel shortage road works wonrsquot come to a safe closure before this monsoonldquoPublic representatives from all parties complained about this following which the BMC fined some of these contractors But the fines are petty and may have been paid from the advance fund given by the BMC itselfrdquo he allegedThe road scamFurther explaining the road scam Thackeray said that tenders of approximately R5000 crore were floated in August 2022 In the absence of response the BMC ldquorevised and increased its estimate costs Schedule of Rates by up to 20 per cent from the last baseline to attract contractors of lsquonational experiencersquoldquoThe increase of an approximate 20 per cent in the Schedule of Rates claiming increased prices of steel cement etc is actually a hike of 40 per cent for contractorsrdquo he allegedldquoFor decades contractors had been bidding about 20 per cent below the estimated cost of the road tendersmdasheven this was higher than that in other cities in India However this time the contractors bid an average of 8 per cent above the actual cost which further hiked the tender cost by 48 per centAlleged cartelisationldquoMoreover there is cartelisation in the appointment of contractors The BMC gives a GST of 18 per cent separately which was not the case before in road works Mobilisation advance is given to greenfield works in the country never for gullies of cities like Mumbai Almost Rs 650 crores with interest for works that will not start until the end of 2024 is purely a fraud and a way of draining Mumbairsquos BMC of its financesrdquo he statedldquoIf a concrete road in Mumbai was being made at Rs 10 crore per km until 2021 now it is estimated that it will be around Rs 17 crore per kmrdquo Thackeray said ldquoImagine your money being wasted to benefit the contractor friends of someone in the government Mumbaikars get a BMC depleted of funds traffic chaos and water logging to make these contractors richrdquo he addedChahal did not respond to middayrsquos request for comment