Opposition members in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday targeted municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte over alleged manipulation of the e-tendering system.
During the general body meeting of the civic body, members of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena demanded that the civic chief come clean on the alleged scam, suggesting that it could involve contracts for works totaling over Rs100 crore.
What is e-tendering?
The e-tendering system was introduced two years ago in place of the previous civil works contracts (CWCs) for petty maintenance works at the ward level, like roads, footpaths and lights.
The new system aimed at curbing corruption, but in March this year some corporators alleged that some engineers were manipulating the system to favour certain contractors.
An inquiry by the civic body's Test, Audit and Vigilance Officer (TAVO) into the allegations named senior officials from nine wards for creating loopholes to award contracts to a few favoured contractors.
How does it work?
In the e-tendering system, contractors must submit bids online. Bids are accepted over a period of three days for works worth up to Rs3 lakh and up to seven days for those worth more than Rs3 lakh.
The corporators alleged that engineers in certain wards opened the web sites for a brief period to allow their favourite contractors to submit their bids and then shut them for the rest of the period.
Why name civic chief?
Devendra Amberkar, opposition leader, said, "When we raised the issue in the house Kunte was not there to make a statement on this important matter. When we visited his office he was not there either. It is necessary that he comes clean on the matter.. Otherwise, his absence would set off speculation that he is involved in the scam."
Members of the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance agreed that Kunte should make a statement, but they would not blame him. "The e-tendering system was forced on the BMC by the state government. The should come forward and make a statement. He must crack the whip on the guilty," said Sunil Prabu, former mayor and Shiv Sena corporator.
What's the way forward?
According to sources, the ruling alliance would not want the issue to drag on as it would be bad publicity going into the assembly elections. "The controversy could suggest that we are not able to control corrupt practices in the BMC. So it's better that the matter is ended quickly," said one corporator.
A senior civic official believes that the opposition is blowing things out of proportion. "They claim that there is a scam of more than Rs100 crore. If one looks at the instances where the sites were kept open for a period the estimate would be Rs2 crore to Rs3 crore. This cannot be labeled as a scam, but favoritism. Even so the matter is being investigated," the officer said.
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