The question rose after a recent incident in which the BMC suspended an executive engineer in its roads department.
Civic body suspends an engineer, but lets concerned contractor get away.
The question rose after a recent incident in which the BMC suspended an executive engineer in its roads department, but let the concerned contractor away with a show-cause notice. While the engineer was suspended promptly after a High Court order on the poor road conditions, the contractor will undergo an elaborate process of de-registration.
Members of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Engineers’ Union, a 4,000-strong body, condemned the incident by wearing black ribbons on Friday. While the union has decided against any agitation, BMEU general secretary Sainath Rajadhyaksha said the BMC had not followed its own rule book in its haste to find a scapegoat. He said there was a three-step process to suspend a municipal employee: Issuing a show-cause notice, conducting a preliminary enquiry, and then suspending the accused employee if he could influence the enquiry or destroy evidence that could implicate him.
Even if he was suspended, he would be reinstated after a final departmental enquiry. In this case, the engineer, DP Waghani, had been suspended without following the three-step process. “Whether he (Waghani) is guilty or not, due process should have been followed,” said Yeshwant Dhury, the union’s additional general secretary. Chief Engineer (roads) Mohan Kadam declined to comment.
The concerned contractors have not been suspended. It is not clear what action the BMC had taken against them. The three contractors in the Waghani case are Steco infrastructure, Unity Infraprojects, and a firm called RK Madhani. The action came after the HC ordered the BMC to repair potholes by August 30.
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