Scumbag millionaires: The men who've made a bloody mess of Mumbai's roads

mid-day unmasks the cartel that is now scrambling to secure immunity against arrest after systematically destroying the roads and infrastructure of Mumbai over the years, while filling their own pockets

Twenty four engineers — both from the civic body and those belonging to third-party auditors — responsible for making Mumbai’s roads motorable and failing miserably, have been arrested over a period of time. Yet, the ones directly responsible for the disastrous state that the city’s roads are in, the owners/directors of the firms contracted to do the work, are still roaming scott free.

While BMC has initiated action against these firms, nothing concrete has come of it yet.

Sanjeev Shivadekar and Tanvi Deshpande bring you details of the roads these firms have made a mess of and the kind of money involved.

Also Read: Plight of Mumbai roads: Congress holds 'pothole photo exhibition'

BMC engineers to meet CM
Engineers from the civic body have decided to approach Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to seek relief in the ongoing road scam inquiry. The engineers’ association has sought a meeting with Fadnavis on July 20 to explain their stand and demand the appointment of a committee of experts from IIT-Bombay and the Indian Road Congress (IRC) to probe the quality and faults in road construction and repairs. “The police are not equipped to investigate technical issues. For a proper inquiry before any engineers are arrested, we want the administration to appoint a committee of experts to fix the responsibility,” said Sainath Rajadhyaksha, general secretary, BMC engineers union.

Read Story: Potholes on Mumbai roads? Not if you are a VIP

Pics/Datta Kumbhar, Prabhanjan Dhanu

St George Road, Fort
Company: M/s Relcon Infraprojects and R K Madhani & Co. joint venture
Work: AC-113
1. Considerable variation in Granular Sub-Base (GSB) layer thickness
2. Percentage of overall crust found on site ranging from 55% to 98% of design crust

Ganesh Nagar Road, Ghatkopar
Company: Mahavir Roads and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd
Work: AE-49
1. Entire GSB layer not found in one trial pit on road no. 4
2. Considerable variation in WMM layer thickness

Dadi Seth Road, Grant Road
Company: M/s R K Madhani and Co
Work: C-248
1. Thickness of Wet Mix Macadam (WMM) and GSB less than expected
2. Percentage of overall crust found on site ranging from 77% to 100% of design crust

Also Read: Mumbai: Poor road signs, lack of warnings cause most mishaps

Hans Bhugra Marg, Kalina
Company: M/s J Kumar and K R Construction
Work: W-266
1. Entire 60 mm Metal layer missing on two roads
2. Entire sand blanket layer not found on three roads
3. Entire GSB layer not found on four roads

Madan Mohan Malaviya Road, Mulund
Company: M/s Relcon Infra Projects
Work: AE-51
1. Variation in top two asphaltic layers
2. Considerable variation in GSB layer thickness. The entire layer is missing on two roads

Vasari Hill Road, Goregaon (West)
Company: M/s RPS Infra Projects and K R Construction
Work: W-271
1. Entire sand blanket layer not found on one road
2. Entire WMM layer not found on two roads
3. Entire GSB layer not found on four roads

The shady six

Mahavir Infrastructure
Managing Director: Jitendra Kikavat
Established: 1960
Company profile: The company started trading in building material in 1960 and moved on to road projects in 1994. The company started constructing national highways and bridges in 2001. Vasantlal Kikavat is the chairman of the company, while Jitendra Kikavat is the MD
Projects: JVLR, Sahar Road, Ghodbunder Road, concretisation of LBS Marg, strengthening of the road from Kalanagar junction to MTNL junction at BKC and so on
(Source: https://www.mahavirinfra.com/)

RPS Infraprojects
Executive Director: Nitin Shah
Established: 1966
Company profile: Originally called M/s R P Shah, the company was renamed RPS Infraprojects later.
Projects: Deonar dumping ground road, Anik Wadala Road, Mohammed Ali Road
(Source: https://rpsinfra.com/rpsnew.htm)

J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd
Executive Director: Nalin Gupta
Established: 1980
Company profile: Originally J Kumar and Co (India) Pvt Ltd, it became J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd in 2007. It is involved in construction of roads, bridges, highways, expressways
Projects: Milan ROB, monorail, Sion-Panvel highway, Kherwadi flyover, Jogeshwari road overbridge (Source: https://www.jkumar.com/home.php)

R K Madhani
Partner: Narendra Madhani
Established: 1966
Company profile: Originally called M/s R P Shah, the company was renamed RPS Infraprojects later.
Projects: Deonar dumping ground road, Anik Wadala Road, Mohammed Ali Road
(Source: https://rpsinfra.com/rpsnew.htm)

Relcon Infraprojects Ltd
Managing Director: Tejas Shah
Established: 1973
Company profile: The company provides infrastructure development and construction services for road infrastructure, urban infrastructure, and commercial sectors in India. It engages in the construction of roads; widening and strengthening of highways and roads; maintenance of bridge flyovers and subways, and improvement of roads. Projects: No major projects
(Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/Research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=129397565)

K R Construction partner: Konark Shah
Established: 1997
Company profile: The firm has two partners–Tarla Rajendra Shah and Konark Shah. Involved in civil construction, road construction and repair, construction of school buildings for the BMC
Projects: No major projects
Source:(https://www.icra.in/Files/Reports/Rationale/K.R.Construction

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