Intensifying his attack against the Shinde-Fadnavis government, Shiv Sena UBT MLA Aaditya Thackeray has now termed the BMC tender worth Rs263 crore for street furniture as dubious, while vowing to challenge it in court of law. He also demanded an inquiry into the matter. The allegation comes a month after Aaditya took on the BMC administration, alleging a Rs6,080 crore scam in the road concretisation project. Uddhav Sena avers that the poll-bound civic body is taking decisions at the government's behest.
'Irregularities' in the street furniture project
Talking about the 'irregularities' in the street furniture project, Aaditya showed the letter written in January by BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha to the BMC administration, which purportedly complained about the cost of items, and alleged that the municipal authorities 'managed' the tendering process.
Putting the onus for the alleged scam on Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, he said, “We don’t know if the BMC administrator is a bureaucrat or dictator. All orders are given by the Urban Development (UD) Department which is with the CM.” He also claimed that there was 100% cost escalation in the items of this project.
Leveling the cartelisation charge, Aaditya asked, “Why did it want one supplier for different types of material? The BMC is going to install 40,000 benches, but where? Kotecha had written a letter to the BMC complaining about the cost of all items and the involvement of the Central Procurement Department (CPD). We want to know why the CPD was involved in the work.” He said that once his party is back in power at the BMC, they will probe all the scams and warned that erring individuals will be sent to jail.
