BMC to be put under CAG lens

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. File Photo

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) will do a special audit of the irregularities that have been reported in certain complaints against the BMC.

In addition, the Urban Development Department will investigate the allegations that some BMC officials had started their own companies to bag contracts during the Coronavirus pandemic. The assurance came in the Assembly during a debate on the issues related to Mumbai.

The announcement is seen in tune with the BJP's agenda of "exposing the Uddhav Thackeray Sena-led BMC" ahead of the forthcoming civic poll. Fadnavis, the then opposition leader, was at the forefront in demanding the special CAG audit of the BMC. He had said the BMC was a ‘hub of corruption' which he had been monitoring for a long time.

The MLAs complained against several projects including road construction and repairs, and the overall functioning of the civic body. The allegations that were made when the BJP sat in the opposition were reiterated in the house. The irregularities in COVID-19 centres and other projects were raised by corporator-turned-MLAs - the BJP' Amit Satam, Congress's Amin Patel and Samajwadi Party's Rais Sheikh. Corruption was alleged in Ashray Yojana as well.

About COVID centres, Fadnavis said, "FIRs have been registered with the police who are investigating. The matter has also been reported to the Lokayukta. Prima facie, there are some irregularities in the centres. The police will be asked to complete the probe in a time-bound manner."

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He said inquiries into the changes made in the original plan of Bhendi Bazar's Saifee Burhani Upliftment Project by the BMC will also be conducted.

About the BMC officials running their own companies, Fadnavsi said the civic body has given a reply that they were being probed. "This will not work. Inquiry cannot be conducted for years. I request the CM that a senior officer from the Urban Development Department be asked to probe this. The officials have established companies overnight and bagged contracts during the COVID pandemic," he said while reading out information that said about 500 BMC employees were being probed for irregularities.

"Inquiries should not become a farce and protect the officers. It should be time-bound. And there are some complaints that need a special audit by the CAG because the public money has been siphoned off. The CM has directed so. It won't be political because if we wanted so, we could have done it by some retired persons," the DCM stated further.

Good roads

Promising pothole-free roads, Fadnavis said, "The CM has promised to start work on 1,200 km of concrete roads. Of this, a tender for 400 km has been floated and another for 200 km will come out soon which will be followed by 600 km next March."

According to the DCM, top infra companies that are known for quality work did not qualify in the BMC, but local contractors who did not put layers on roads got all the road works. "The top companies will get the work to ensure quality," he said, adding that the concrete roads will have utility ducts so that they are not dug frequently.