Not so Da’Bangar’…
Last heard whenever I am writing against Mithi River and Desilting scams on my blogs, whosoever meets this one particular IAS officer who is directly or indirectly responsible for this scam, he is letting his mouth run about me to others… Best part is, to those whom he rants against me, they come out of his cabin and tell me about it… ’Don’t pay attention, nothing will happen’ is one of his famous lines he keeps ranting. So Mr. IAS officer, don’t pay attention is OK for you to say, but what to do, the ones who matter including the Chief Minister of our state, do listen and read my blogs carefully. Now, I don’t know but people say even the CVC is looking at these blogs…So don’t be overconfident and blatant, is my advice to you.
Anyways, coming back to the scam,
Since the time I have written my blog on Mithi, visits of Mr Gupta to the office of the Addl MC (Projects) has increased. Is the Project portfolio controversial or is it that the concerned officials governing them are making it controversial?
From what I know from the last few years as far as my memory can go, projects have been called throwing caution to the wind, specifications have been drafted based on whims and fancies of the powerful who run the corridors of power (and ran to Dubai now) and no, I mean NO importance is given to the public exchequer.
To quote a few, the GMLR twin tunnels were brought in by putting in many new specifications which were never included in other road contracts. If probed, it can be seen that at least more than Rs. 400 crore of freebies were awarded to the contractor by the BMC.
Coming to new contracts the process in awarding critical water infrastructure projects unusually expedited, namely:
- Pise Barrage and Pumping Station -Rs 900 crores.
- Bhandup Water Treatment Plant – Rs. 2500 crores
- Dadar-Ghatkopar Tunnel – Rs. 2000 crores
Key Concerns:
Unprecedented Speed: These projects, which typically require 18 months for due diligence and processing, were awarded within a few months.
Lack of Competitive Bidding: The tenders were not competitive, with bids reportedly exceeding estimated costs.
Predetermined Awarding: Contracts seem to be allocated to fixed parties, raising concerns about favoritism.
All of the above was done on the instructions of the super CM sitting at Nirmal and the Head of the Projects department who was brought in by the super CM ensured that they were awarded at an unusually rapid pace.
Now coming to the current day, the Mithi river and desilting is also being done by the same AMC and that too is mired in controversy.
So let’s hope and pray that wisdom prevails over this bureaucrat and he ensures fair play in the bidding process instead of being a mere puppet in the hands of those who have fled to Dubai.
Vikrant Meena Hemant Joshi.
