Mira-Bhayandar : The controversial annual hawker fee collection contract of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) is now under the scanner of the judiciary. In a significant development, the District Court, Thane on Saturday given interim injunction, restraining the civic administration from proceeding further with the tender notification.
The judicial action followed after a local contractor- Devidas Kini moved a petition against the unjustified decision taken by the civic administration of recalling tenders despite of the fact that he had successfully bid and was fit to qualify for the contract which envisages collection of daily license fees from roadside hawkers in the region.
The matter relates to re-invitation bids floated for the contract, after scrapping the first tender process, without giving valid reasons to qualifying bidders. Posting the matter for Tuesday, Jt. Civil Judge, S. M. Shaikh refrained further proceedings with tender notifications and its corrigendum published on 17, July and 28, July, 2015 respectively.
“It”s an ex-parte ad-interim temporary injunction and the MBMC has an opportunity to place relevant facts before the judiciary,” a legal expert pointed out. It should be noted that annual contracts worth around Rs.7.5 crore were awarded to four private agents to collect daily fees from hawkers in the region, last year which generated fixed revenue of around Rs. 1.8 lakh per day to the MBMC. However, the MBMC has been mysteriously shying away from awarding collection contracts for two out of the four zones opting to deploy its own personnel.
Suresh Golani
