MITHI/DESILTING SCAM–PART 6-THE HUSTLERS!!
The recent Mithi scam has exposed the role of a person Mr Ketan Kadam. But It’s not the first time that this name has been associated with controversy.
So, Ketan actually was a successful hotelier who had to his credit run the first Disco Fire-n-ice and Maroosh. He was introduced to the BMC by an intellectual Muslim corporator who has now become an MLA. He also was a partner in one of the food chains run by Ketan. This corporator was the one who taught Ketan the tricks of the trade and helped him set up the network of Engineers within the BMC. Ketan was as such the front face of this corporator and it was well known in the corridors of BMC. This corporator used to raise objections and write complaint letters on those projects which didn’t take Ketan along as a Liasioner. Ketan was also helped immensely by a Gujarati corporator who eventually became a MP & was later denied ticket by the BJP.
In the MVA regime, a lot of projects in the BMC were manipulated by this individual along with his association with a strong legal background minister from SS & a flop actor who was close to the ruling family. Ketan used to exploit these connections and pressurise the engineers to do his bidding. As he had no technical background, he used the guise of technology to manipulate the system and then use the clout of his network with Engineers to put the technology in place so that contractors were forced to approach him.
The percentage offered by him to the BMC Engineers was so high that the Engineers used to recommend his name to the contractors or the technology providers to approach him to get their work done. And he in turn used to cater to all their needs. He had often boasted of sending officials on a chartered flight to Amsterdam to enjoy when they were on an official visit to IFAT at Munich. In the recent cold play concert he had given a Chief Engineer tickets worth Rs. 4 lakh rupees. No wonder they were obliged & Most of them were a regular sight at his office in Mahalaxmi.
Prashant Ramagude was not the only one in his close proximity, the other names which supposedly worked with him are
-
Satish Chavan DMC (retd)
-
Prashant Gawli CE SWM
-
Lalit Choudhary SE SWD
-
Ajay Chavan EE SO
-
Shridar Choudhary CE SWD
-
Chandrashekhar Ghatkar DY CE SO
-
Salil Garude DY CE SO
I am sure the above lot can help EOW in their ongoing investigation and help them unearth how a Hotelier could be able to exploit the system so successfully.
It was not only Virgo which helped Ketan front run his business interest, there were many other companies which served that purpose also. Many of the companies were only awarding name lending to companies run by Ketan in the background. If the owners of those companies and their association to a non technical person like Ketan is investigated, the overall nexus can be exposed. I can happily share the names of those companies who have been awarded contracts through Ketan in earlier regimes.
I am sure by now, the EOW must have come across many projects on hard drive of Mr Kadam, many of which must be pertaining to the SO department mainly
-
Bioremediation project
-
Odour control in pumping station
-
Artificial Intelligence
-
Rehabilitation of Sewer lines
Ketan had a bright future but the lure of making a fast buck has put him in his current state. He should have focused more on being a hotelier which was his core area of expertise. The Government’s message is clear, no middle man is needed and none will be tolerated.
Vikrant Meena Hemant Joshi.
www.vikrantjoshi.com
