Mumbai: BMC sanctioned Rs 1,00,000-crore projects in 2 years

I S Chahal, BMC chief, at a press conference. File pic/Anurag Ahire

Without corporators' approval, the administrator of the BMC has already spent Rs 25,000 crore and aims to spend Rs 40,000 crore on projects until March 2025. The BMC chief has also sanctioned mega projects worth Rs 1,00,000 crore, including Rs 12,000 crore for road concreting work, Rs 27,000 crore for sewage treatment plants, Rs 16,621 crore for the Versova-Dahisar Coastal Road, and many bridges and roads that will extend for at least five years. Additionally, the BMC has faced allegations of Rs 13,500 crore during this period, mainly due to opposition over favouritism in road concreting, street furniture tenders, city beautification projects, and fund distribution.

BMC commissioner forecasts capital expenditure to reach Rs 25,316 crore by March 2024

The term of corporators elected in 2017 ceased at midnight on March 7, 2022. Statutory committees like the standing committee, improvement committee, and law committee, responsible for various decisions including financial ones, also ceased to function. The 227 elected corporators, who held their first meeting on March 8, 2017, had their last working day on March 7, 2022, and the city has been run by an administrator for the past two years. With all the power and not being answerable to corporators, the administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal sanctioned mega projects for Mumbai worth over one lakh crore rupees. In addition to these mega projects, several projects are in the pipeline, including houses for sanitation workers, bridges, skywalks, water projects, waste-to-electricity projects at Deonar, and water tunnels.

Expert quote

"According to the 74th Constitutional Amendment, it is mandatory to hold elections for local self-government bodies at fixed intervals. However, the state government wants to exercise power with the help of officials in the absence of corporators. During the pandemic, elections were held in the state of Bihar, but no elections took place in Maharashtra's cities. This occurred under a different government in the state. Every government wants this. Corporators are more accountable to citizens as they face elections every five years, unlike civic officials," Abhay Deshpande, a political observer.

Mega Projects

Road Concreting Project: Rs 12,000 crore: Mumbai's road network spans 2,050 km, with 989.84 km already concreted by 2022. The BMC initiated concreting of 210 km in January 2022 and sanctioned another proposal for 397 km in February 2023, costing Rs 6,080 crore excluding the GST of 18 per cent. Now, a tender for the remaining 400 km is estimated at Rs 6,250 crore.

Sewage Treatment Plants (STP): Rs 27,000 crore: Under the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project-II (MSDP), the BMC is constructing seven STPs across Mumbai, treating 2,464 million litres of sewage daily, valued at Rs 27,000 crore. Sanctioned in December 2022, the BMC allocated Rs 3,592 crore in 2023-24 and proposed Rs 5,045 crore for 2024-25.

Coastal Road from Versova to Dahisar: Rs 16,621 crore: The BMC finalised four firms in December 2023 to construct an 18.47 km road, with a 4.46 km connector to the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR). Projected completion is by 2028, with costs totalling R16,621 crore.

Dahisar to Bhayndar Connector: Rs 1,998 Crore: An elevated road connecting Dahisar to Mira-Bhayandar, spanning 5 km, with BMC bearing the entire cost despite about 3.5 km road being in MBMC's jurisdiction. The project, planned for completion by 2028, has an estimated cost of R1,998 crore.

Highway Access: Rs 3,000 crore: Approved by the BMC administrator on March 5, 2024, aims to decongest nine heavy traffic junctions on the Western and Eastern Express Highways, with an estimated cost of Rs 2,900 crore.

Freeway to Coastal Road Connector: Rs 662 crore: An elevated road connecting the Eastern Freeway to the Coastal Road, sanctioned in record time, with an estimated cost of Rs 662 crore.

Beautification Project: Rs 1,700 crore: Encompasses tree and pole illumination, pavement reconstruction, median refurbishment, and flyover painting, costing approximately Rs 1,700 crore.

GMLR Tunnel: R6,322 crore: The GMLR project spans 12.2 km, including a 4.7 km tunnel beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, with twin tunnels to be completed by October 2028, costing Rs 6,322 crore.

Desalination Plant: Rs 3,520 crore: The tender process is underway for a desalination project at Manori, capable of adding 200 MLD of water, expandable to 400 MLD, costing Rs 3,520 crore.

Madh to Versova Bridge: Rs 1,800 crore: A cable-stayed bridge connecting Madh Island with Versova, with a tender floated at R1,800 crore.

The allegations

In the past two years, BMC faced allegations totalling around Rs 13,500 crore. Mainly, opposition arose over favouritism in the R6,050 crore road concreting project, street furniture tender, city beautification project, and fund distribution to ruling party MLAs and MPs.

Street furniture scam

A street furniture scam worth Rs 263 crore prompted Lokayukta V M Kanade to intervene, asking BMC to respond by April 23, 2024. Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray and BJP MLA Mohit Kamboj raised the issue.

Road concreting scam

Shiv Sena UBT and other opposition allege a scam in awarding the Rs 6,050 crore road concreting tender last year. BMC cancelled a contract worth R1,687 crore for the concreting of south Mumbai roads in December 2023 due to contractors' inaction. UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray claims this tender is a scam.

Beautification project scam

BMC initiated a city beautification project, championed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. However, the Opposition argues BMC should prioritise essential local infrastructure projects, citing overspending. The project's estimated cost is Rs 1,700 crore, with BMC having spent around Rs 766 crore and completing approximately 1,200 works.

Deep cleaning scam

A tender to clean slum areas, including public toilets and drains, received objections. The INDIA bloc protested, alleging bias towards a certain contractor, affecting thousands of volunteers in the Swacha Mumbai Prabodhan scheme. BMC plans to spend Rs 1,200 crore over four years.

Sanitary pad vending machine scam

BMC's decision to install sanitary vending and disposal machines in 5,000 public toilets faced criticism from Shiv Sena UBT for alleged overspending, with the project's cost being Rs 42 crore.

Fund distribution

Opposition parties allege unfair fund distribution to MLAs and MPs, with BMC providing special funds to ruling party representatives for local civic work. Meanwhile, BMC distributed R700 crore to ruling party MLAs, MPs, and former corporators, while Opposition representatives received no funds in the current financial year.

There are no corporators in all eight corporations of the MMR of Mumbai, including Thane, Palghar, and parts of the Raigad district. The term of corporators for Navi Mumbai, Vasai Virar, Kalyan, and Dombivli ended in 2020. Iqbal Singh Chahal, administrator, did not respond to phone calls and messages.

Rs 40,000 cr
Amount BMC to spend by 2025

Mar 7, 2022
Last working day of corporators