Mumbai: Even as the Lokayukta cleared the BMC of charges levelled by the BJP of irregularities in procurement of Remdesivir injections during the Covid-19 pandemic, the party charged civic officials with trying to cover up another scam in contracts for jumbo Covid field hospitals.
The BMC, on its part, denied the allegation of a scam of Rs100 crore in awarding contracts to Lifeline Hospital Management Services to supply personnel for two field hospitals, pointing out that it had only paid the agency Rs 33.13 crore.
Lifeline was contracted to provide medical personnel for two jumbo centres at Dahisar and Worli.
Raut's aide Patkar forged documents, claims BJP
The BJP claimed that an internal inquiry by the BMC last February found that Sujit Patkar, an aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, MP, and Lifeline forged documents, stamp papers and notary signatures to get the contract in 2020.
The Enforcement Directorate had questioned Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal last week in connection with an alleged money-laundering case against Mr Patkar arising out of irregularities in the alleged field hospitals scam.
While Mr Chahal denied any irregularities, the BJP is now raking up the inquiry conducted by the civic body in the matter last year to allege that the civic body was shielding the agency.
"Sunil Dhamne, Joint Municipal Commissioner, in his report clearly mentioned that Patkar and Lifeline Services cheated the BMC using forged documents,” the BJP claimed in a press release on Saturday. The report has been submitted to the Azad Maidan police station and the Esplanade court.
The party claimed the police and the BMC found that two stamp papers, AY136973 and AY136974, submitted by Mr Patkar were forged and the partnership deed was signed twice.
The PMRDA deed of 2020
One stamp paper was used to get a contract for a Covid centre from the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) and the other from the BMC. The party said the Inspector General of Stamps and Registration had started investigating the forgery and an FIR would be filed soon.
The partnership deed submitted to the BMC was signed by the partners and certified by Rakesh Tuda, a notary at Parel, on Nov 20, 2010. The deed given to the PMRDA was dated June 26, 2020, and also certified by Mr Tuda, the party said.
On inquiry it was found that no such certificate had been signed by this notary on this date and no agreement had been authenticated, the BJP alleged.
The BMC countered that the findings of the inquiry into the partnership deed were based on legal opinion, available evidence and statements by the contractor and not on anyone’s personal opinion.
It said the contractor had told the inquiry committee that the stamp papers were purchased on Mar 20, 2020, and the mention of the date as Nov 20, 2010, was an error, after which the BMC wrote to the police twice to check whether the documents submitted by the agency were forged. It was on the basis of its letters that the police had registered an FIR on Aug 22, 2022, the civic body said.
Mr Dhamne was unavailable for comment.
