Mumbai: BJP wants detailed probe in Rs 22,000 crore tenders

The tender for street furniture was for R263-cr. Representation pic/Sameer Markande

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims that merely cancelling the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) street furniture tender is not enough, a detailed investigation has to be ordered in past tenders worth Rs 22,000 crore, issued when the Shiv Sena ruled the civic body.

In January 2023, BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha raised a red flag against a Rs 263 crore tender for street furniture. Later, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray too, firmly opposed the tender for street furniture on the grounds that there are several irregularities in the process.

Finally, on Wednesday, there was a buzz in political circles that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis had decided to cancel the tender. In fact, Kotecha in his letter issued on July 19, has applauded the state government for its decision to cancel the tender. However, while doing so, the BJP MLA has questioned the Sena leadership on why Thackeray Jr is quiet on the Rs 22,00 crore tenders in question and so vocal only on the street furniture tender.

Speaking to mid-day, Kotecha said, "I had raised questions on BMC's move to install street furniture. Similarly, I have raised questions on tenders worth Rs 22,00 crore issued by the BMC during the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. The Sena has been vocal on street furniture issues, why aren't they making the same noise on other tenders that are in question? Even if Aaditya Thackeray or Sena leaders do not answer this question, citizens are smart enough to understand politics of convenience."

Further responding to allegations that Kotecha who initially raised the street tender issue was later silent on the subject as it criticised BMC's functioning during the Shinde-Fadnavis, the BJP MLA said "After bringing this issue to notice of Devendra Fadnavis, I was asked to gather more details and evidence in this case. Hence, I was quietly completing the task assigned to me by my senior party leader. It is only after I collected all the details, the tender process has been cancelled."

BJP takes credit, Aaditya says let it

While the BJP congratulated its MLA Mihir Kotecha for taking the BMC's R263 street furniture scam to its logical end, Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who had also raised the scam issue in the house and outside it, said, "Let them take credit, but he wanted the BMC chief to announce the scrapping of the contract and the state government to hold the inquiry by the Lokayuta." Speaking at the Vidhan Bhavan, the Worli MLA said he had written a letter to Governor Ramesh Bais on Wednesday itself in this regard. "After our meeting on May 10, 2023, we kept raising the issue on various platforms, and the fact that the BMC municipal commissioner was avoiding giving a reply to elected representatives to the state assembly," the letter said.

It said while the government had announced, rather vaguely, an inquiry into the scam, he would urge it to protect his right as an elected representative. "Ask the government to conduct a fair inquiry into the scam, through the office of the Lokayukta and instruct the BMC to stop all work and payments to the contractor and ask for refund for all payments made till date, till the Lokayukta inquiry has concluded," Aaditya said.

Inputs by Dharmendra Jore