MUMBAI: The
BMC standing committee
on Wednesday rejected the civic administration’s proposal to award a
garbage transportation contract
to KavirajMBB Waste Management, saying it’s the same firm that was
blacklisted
in a
desilting scam
last year. On Wednesday, TOI reported how
KavirajMBB Waste Management
is run by the same family that manages Shree Kaviraj Infratech Pvt Ltd, which has been blacklisted for seven years.
Standing committee members also questioned BMC officials how KavirajMBB qualified for the contract to transport garbage from the Gorai garbage transfer centre to the three dumping grounds—Deonar, Mulund and Kanjurmarg. The centre receives approximately 300 tonnes of garbage daily from the Goregaon-Dahisar region.
Vivekanand Gupta of BJP said, “BMC officials and solid waste management engineers knew the company was blacklisted, but allowed it to be in the race. These officials and engineers should be suspended immediately.”
At the committee meeting, members of major parties came together and opposed the BMC proposal. Opposition leader in BMC and Congress corporator Ravi Raja said, “The company is trying to get BMC contract using a different name... I have also written to the civic chief to cancel one more contract awarded to a company owned by the same contractor.”
BJP group leader in BMC Manoj Kotak pointed out that almost all the directors in the two companies were same. “They are blood relatives,” he said.
The committee rejected additional municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal’s explanation that both companies have different set of directors. “We have asked for legal opinion over the issue, if we find that the company had provided us wrong information, we will file a criminal case against them,” said Singhal, additional municipal commissioner in charge of solid waste management.
The BMC standing committee also rejected another proposal to award a contract to procure machines for Deonar dumping ground, suspecting corruption.
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.
Read Less