Mumbai, March 5: The Maharashtra government on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the delay in construction of the E Ward office building of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the controversial tender issued for a multi-storied robotic parking facility at Worli.
Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal informed the Legislative Assembly that the probe will be conducted by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department.
Issue raised in Assembly
The issue was raised through a starred question by Rais Shaikh in the Assembly. Shaikh alleged irregularities in the tender issued for a robotic parking project at the municipal testing laboratory plot in the G South Ward at Worli. According to him, the project would have cost the civic body nearly Rs 27 lakh for a single parking space.
He told the House that the tender had been floated at a rate of Rs 10,000 per square foot. However, following complaints regarding inflated costs, the BMC cancelled the tender.
Shaikh questioned what would happen to the expenditure already incurred by the civic body during the tendering process and demanded that a white paper be issued on alleged corruption and inflated tenders by the BMC administration over the past four years.
Delay in E Ward office building
The legislator also highlighted the condition of the BMC’s E Ward office building, which was declared dangerous more than a year ago. Since then, the ward office has been operating from multiple temporary locations. Shaikh said this has caused considerable inconvenience to citizens as they often struggle to locate the relevant officials and departments.
He alleged that the delay in constructing the new building was linked to a proposal by a contractor to develop an “iconic” structure at the site.
Demand for deeper probe
During the discussion, Yogesh Sagar demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be appointed to probe the functioning of the BMC administration over the past four years. He remarked that five IAS officers are currently handling the civic body’s affairs and stressed the need for greater accountability in their work.
Sagar also questioned why the proposal to implement the parking project through a public-private partnership (PPP) model was considered only after objections were raised.
Ameet Satam went further and demanded that a white paper be released on the functioning of the BMC for the past 25 years rather than limiting the review to four years. Satam alleged that several irregularities have taken place during this period and cited the desilting work of the Mithi River as an example.
He claimed that only part of the desilting work had been completed earlier and that a fresh tender has now been floated for the remaining work, which also needs investigation.
Government orders inquiry
Responding to the concerns raised by the members, Misal said that senior officials of the Urban Development Department will conduct a detailed inquiry into both the delay in construction of the E Ward office building and the PPP-based robotic parking tender in G South Ward.
Also Watch:
Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar praised Shaikh for raising what he described as a substantive and important issue in the House. Narwekar also announced that a meeting will be held in his chamber to discuss and resolve the problems related to the E Ward and G South Ward areas.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
