In yet another incident exposing unruliness and disorder prevailing in the tender awarding system in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), two civic contractors came to blows in the main administrative building of the civic body on Tuesday afternoon. The shameful and embarrassing incident was reported at around 2 pm on Tuesday from the fourth floor which houses the office of the public works department (PWD)- which handles most of the developmental work in the twin-city.
A heated exchange of words apparently over some civic related work between contractors identified as- Raju Singh and Krunal Joshi took a violent turn after both started raining blows on each other. As per eyewitness account, both rushed to the Bhayandar police station with a bleeding nose, to register complaints against each other. However a FIR was yet to be registered till reports last came in.
Although an e-tendering procurement system has been operational in the MBMC since 2010, a section of contractors with dodgy track records continue to exploit the loopholes by forming cartels aimed at eliminating the competitive bidding process. The incident has not only brought to light shady deals in the PWD but has also exposed chinks in the security apparatus for which the administration doles out astronomical amounts in the form of monthly payouts to a private manpower agency hired for the safety and security of civic properties.
Owing to an alarming rise in the number of Covid-19 positive cases, the civic administration had recently trimmed entry timing for visitors in the civic headquarters where the incident took place.
