Thane: TMC blacklists contractor for non-compliance with workers' PF contributions

Thane Municipal Corporation office/ Pic/PTI

The Thane Municipal Corporation in Maharashtra has taken decisive action by blacklisting a contractor, Kalpesh Enterprises of Navi Mumbai, due to multiple violations, including the failure to deposit Provident Fund (PF) contributions for conservancy workers engaged in their service, stated a report in PTI.

According to the report, the TMC had previously awarded a contract to Kalpesh Enterprises for conservancy work. However, the contractor allegedly neglected to deposit the PF contributions of the workers, despite receiving payments from the civic body. Moreover, the workers faced additional hardships as they were not duly compensated, and they were deprived of essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

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The PF department, acting upon these transgressions, issued "prohibitory orders" against Kalpesh Enterprises in May 2022. In response, the TMC took swift action by deducting Rs 32.69 lakh from the contractor's dues and ensured direct payment to the PF office located in Vashi, stated the PTI report.

Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) chief Abhijit Bangar viewed these alleged lapses with utmost seriousness. The blacklisting of Kalpesh Enterprises served as a stern warning to contractors who engage in malpractices to mend their ways.

Contractor blacklisted for three years for shoddy road works

It is not the first time civic chief Bangar has blacklisted a contractor. Earlier this year, he blacklisted a contractor for three years due to shoddy work done on a road in Thane's Kopri area.

Reportedly, TMC had given a contract for repairing and maintaining the Ashtavinayak Chowk Road in Kopri to a company named A&C Construction. During a surprise inspection, Bangars observed the work to be shoddy. Based on the opinions of experts over the technical quality of road works, the action was initiated against the contractor, he had said.

TMC had reportedly barred the contractor from participating in any other tender process of TMC and show-cause notices were issued to officials supervising the work.

Reportedly, the road work at Kopri had been going on for the last few months and the executive engineer in charge was asked to inspect. The contractor had reportedly submitted a report claiming he had completed the repair work despite not having done it.