MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former minister Aaditya Thackeray on Friday said that his party would go to court against the BMC’s Rs 263 crore street furniture tender.
Aaditya alleged there was a 100% cost escalation in the items that the BMC is going to buy under the project.
Aaditya took up the issue two months after BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha had alleged that there was match fixing in this tender.
In a letter to municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal in January, Kotecha had predicted the company was to win the tender by allegedly manipulating the sample testing. The BJP had said there was a grand match fixing in this project and had given the name of the winning company to Chahal.
“We don’t know if the BMC administrators are bureaucrats or dictators as the entire administration is functioning in an opaque way. All orders are given by the Urban Development (UD) department which is the CM’s office. BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha had written to the BMC, he’s from the ruling party and not from our party. Cost of all items has been escalated. We don’t even know what items they are and there was cartelization in the tenders since they are buying all the items from one contractor. They are going to install planters and benches…40,000 benches. We know the unconstitutional CM likes to see empty chairs in his rallies but where is the BMC going to put these benches,” Aaditya said.
“This scam has been exposed by a BJP MLA and even he has received bogus replies. We will go to the court with this and demand an enquiry. But when our government comes to power, we will start enquiries in all these scams and those guilty will have to go to jail,” Aaditya said while speaking in the Vidhan Bhavan premises on Friday.
Following Kotecha’s allegations, the BMC had said that it decided to buy all the 10 street furniture items through a single agency to maintain uniformity with standard specification across all wards. The BMC had said that due diligence was adhered to while processing the tender and the accusation of any scam is refuted. The BMC also said that all the samples of all the bidders had passed the testing criteria.
“In order to avoid different agencies working simultaneously on any stretch of footpath thereby indulging in the multiple excavations etc. leading to chaos, the work will be supervised and executed by engineers of the traffic department. This will ensure proper planning, supervision and sequential quality work. Again Traffic and Road Department engineers are well versed with ‘pedestrian first policy’. For some of the items the defect liability period is of 10 years, thereby ensuring stringent quality,” the BMC had said, adding that requirements from the different ward offices were consolidated.
“Earlier, a ruling party MLA also had raised it via a letter, but the BMC administration seems to have the backing of the unconstitutional govt for corruption. Most importantly, most of us don’t know what the BMC is buying and at what rate in detail. The process is opaque and to favour a contractor. Bulk buying should involve a discount, not an escalation of price! Money will be given now to the contractor and supply time is over 3 years! I have said this earlier as well, this unconstitutional government is for builders and contractors, not for the common man. I will oppose this in every way. The
BMC, without elected representatives today, is being used as a money machine by this gang of traitors and to spoil my city- Mumbai!” Aaditya said in a tweet.
Aaditya alleged there was a 100% cost escalation in the items that the BMC is going to buy under the project.
Aaditya took up the issue two months after BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha had alleged that there was match fixing in this tender.
In a letter to municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal in January, Kotecha had predicted the company was to win the tender by allegedly manipulating the sample testing. The BJP had said there was a grand match fixing in this project and had given the name of the winning company to Chahal.
“We don’t know if the BMC administrators are bureaucrats or dictators as the entire administration is functioning in an opaque way. All orders are given by the Urban Development (UD) department which is the CM’s office. BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha had written to the BMC, he’s from the ruling party and not from our party. Cost of all items has been escalated. We don’t even know what items they are and there was cartelization in the tenders since they are buying all the items from one contractor. They are going to install planters and benches…40,000 benches. We know the unconstitutional CM likes to see empty chairs in his rallies but where is the BMC going to put these benches,” Aaditya said.
“This scam has been exposed by a BJP MLA and even he has received bogus replies. We will go to the court with this and demand an enquiry. But when our government comes to power, we will start enquiries in all these scams and those guilty will have to go to jail,” Aaditya said while speaking in the Vidhan Bhavan premises on Friday.
Following Kotecha’s allegations, the BMC had said that it decided to buy all the 10 street furniture items through a single agency to maintain uniformity with standard specification across all wards. The BMC had said that due diligence was adhered to while processing the tender and the accusation of any scam is refuted. The BMC also said that all the samples of all the bidders had passed the testing criteria.
“In order to avoid different agencies working simultaneously on any stretch of footpath thereby indulging in the multiple excavations etc. leading to chaos, the work will be supervised and executed by engineers of the traffic department. This will ensure proper planning, supervision and sequential quality work. Again Traffic and Road Department engineers are well versed with ‘pedestrian first policy’. For some of the items the defect liability period is of 10 years, thereby ensuring stringent quality,” the BMC had said, adding that requirements from the different ward offices were consolidated.
“Earlier, a ruling party MLA also had raised it via a letter, but the BMC administration seems to have the backing of the unconstitutional govt for corruption. Most importantly, most of us don’t know what the BMC is buying and at what rate in detail. The process is opaque and to favour a contractor. Bulk buying should involve a discount, not an escalation of price! Money will be given now to the contractor and supply time is over 3 years! I have said this earlier as well, this unconstitutional government is for builders and contractors, not for the common man. I will oppose this in every way. The
BMC, without elected representatives today, is being used as a money machine by this gang of traitors and to spoil my city- Mumbai!” Aaditya said in a tweet.
I have said this earlier as well, this unconstitutional government is for builders and contractors, not for the com… https://t.co/rMbjkfqiBO
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) 1679055673000
