Visit by members of civic body’s standing committee reveals gaps in Mahape silt dumping records
Another de-silting scam seems to be brewing in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Barely two years after a major de-silting scam was exposed, civic officials seem to have not learnt from past lapses.
When members of the BMC standing committee visited a quarry on the outskirts of Adavli and Bhutavli villages in Mahape on Friday, where a civic contractor will dump silt removed from Mumbai’s drains, local civic officials could not answer queries posed by the visiting team.
Questions were raised by Ramesh Korgaonkar, standing committee chairman, BJP group leader Manoj Kotak and other members of the committee on discrepancies in the records maintained of trips from Mumbai to the plot in Mahape by vehicles carrying silt and construction debris, as well as discrepancies in the weight of the truckloads, and receipts. Yashwant Jadhav, leader of the house in the BMC, said, “When these queries were raised, we also demanded to know if the contractor had received the necessary environment clearance and permission from the competent civic authority to dump silt here.”
Jadhav added, “It doesn’t seem that the contractor sought permission. Though it is a private plot, and the owner has allowed the dumping of silt and construction debris, the civic body should have had all paperwork in place.”
Another member who visited the plot at Mahape said civic officials present at the site could not reply to the queries put forward by standing committee members. “When asked for the paperwork and environment clearance, the contractor could not produce it. Officials said they will ensure the contractor has all necessary papers in place soon. However, silt has already been dumped at the site,” said a committee member.
Members said officials showed them a timetable of the trips made from Mumbai to Mahape.
“There were discrepancies in the timetable. How can a truckload of silt reach Mahape from Mumbai, and return in one-and-a-half-hours. Also, the receipts of silt being weighed are from different areas,” said another member.
The members have now asked for a clarification report from civic officials, and have called for measures like installing vehicle tracking systems in the trucks and CCTVs at the quarry. Civic officials, however, said that securing the necessary paperwork and clearances was the contractor’s headache, and that these were stipulated conditions when the contract was given.
“Who will allow Mumbai’s silt to be dumped within their jurisdiction? If the contractor gives an undertaking, and the private plot owner agrees to the dumping of silt on his land, why should it be an issue?,” said a civic official
In the past...
In June 2015, several parts of the city were flooded within a few hours of heavy rain, as contractors had carried out a sub-par job of de-silting drains, putting citizens’ lives and properties at risk. It was revealed that the contractors cheated the BMC by forging various documents showing truck trips carrying silt from the city to the dumping sites, fake bills and challans and committed several irregularities to claim money from the civic body.
Civic engineers and supervisors ‘helped’ contractors to commit the scam. The BMC’s chief vigilance officer failed to monitor the irregularities.
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