The Congress in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has yet again opposed a proposal tabled by the ruling Shiv Sena for administrative clearance.
During the standing committee meeting, earlier this week, the BMC administration had tabled a proposal to appoint private contractors for carrying out cleaning and maintenance at crematoriums and burial grounds in Mumbai. The estimated cost of the tender is around Rs 46 crore. However, the BMC administration had submitted the proposal by cutting the cost by 46 per cent owing to the pandemic.
After the proposal was tabled for clearance, Ravi Raja, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the BMC and senior Congress corporator, opposed the move questioning the quality of work.
“After the deduction of the estimated cost, the amount of tender stands at around Rs 15 crore. We doubt how the contractors will carry out quality work in so many cemeteries and burial grounds of Mumbai within this amount,” Raja told FPJ on Friday. However, despite Raja's opposition, the proposal was cleared by the ruling Shiv Sena, which has the majority in the standing committee. A senior BMC official maintained that the quality of the work will be kept in check by the civic body.
"If the quality of work doesn't meet the standards, the contractor could be questioned or fined. This is an important proposal that needs clearance as maintenance of hygiene has become an important issue owing to the pandemic breakout," the official said.
Meanwhile Yashwant Jadhav, chairperson of the committee, maintained that the estimated cost of all the proposals that are being tabled at the committee is being curtailed due to financial constraints faced by the BMC.
