MUMBAI: Three months after the civic standing committee rejected the
BMC
administration’s proposal to award a garbage transportation contract to KavirajMBB
Waste Management
, saying it’s the same firm that was blacklisted in the 2016 desilting scam, it cleared the proposal on Wednesday.
KavirajMBB Waste Management has got clearance to transport waste from the Gorai garbage transfer centre to the Deonar, Mulund and Kanjurmarg dumping grounds.
In 2016, the BMC blacklisted Shree Kaviraj Infratech Pvt Ltd for seven years for its involvement in the desilting scam and barred the company and its directors—Vinod Kantilal Jain, Soniya Jain and Tansukh Tekchand Jain-—to participate in any civic contact. But the contractor, in the same year, came in new avatar—KavirajMBB Waste Management—with his wife as the firm director to bid for the garbage transfer contract. He claimed that as his wife was a minor shareholder in the blacklisted company, KavirajMBB Waste Management should not be held liable of the act committed by the erstwhile company. Surprisingly, the BMC allowed their explanation.
The BMC administration sought legal advice and tabled the proposal before the standing committee, although it was not listed in Wednesday’s agenda, after BJP members staged a walkout against the nod for a proposal related with a gymkhana for BMC employees.
Shiv Sena cleared the garbage transportation proposal without any discussion.
Opposition leader in the BMC and
Congress corporator Ravi Raja said, “It’s shocking that the civic legal department gave a clean chit to the company formed by the tainted contractor on his wife’s name. The ruling party silently cleared the proposal in the meeting without allowing anyone to speak on it.”
BJP group leader in the BMC Manoj Kotak said, “I learnt that they had cleared the proposal despite conflicting legal opinion over the issue. We have always opposed the proposal. The ruling party in the BMC, Shiv Sena, is supporting the tainted contractor.”
Standing committee chairman and Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Korgaokar was unavailable for comment.
Vijay V Singh has worked for various print and online publication...
Read MoreVijay V Singh has worked for various print and online publications before joining The Times of Indiain 2008. He covers crime and takes a keen interest in criminology. His hobbies include travel (especially on bikes), reading and cricket.
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