BJP Pimpri-Chinchwad unit vice-president, Vilas Madigeri, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in the Bombay high court.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Pimpri-Chinchwad city unit vice-president, Vilas Madigeri, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in the Bombay high court.
The first hearing of the case, related to the civic body’s outsourcing the catheterisation lab (cathlab) to a private party, Ruby Alcare Services Pvt Ltd, is slated for March 31. In his PIL, the BJP leader has alleged that a scam of Rs54 crore has occurred in the cathlab contract.
The cathlab, set up at the civic body’s Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) in Pimpri, was inaugurated by Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, in March 2009. It was established with the objective of providing treatment for all heart related ailments at cheaper rates to the citizens living in and around the Pimpri-Chinchwad area.
The cathlab centre has been set up over an area of 20,000 sq ft with modern, sophisticated equipment for treating patients. Madigeri alleged that although the lab was meant to be run on a public private partnership (PPP) basis, the civic body purchased equipment worth Rs26.4 crore for the lab.
Besides, there were irregularities in the documentation relating to the PPP deal such as failure to take the subject committee’s approval for the project.
The BJP leaders alleged that the PCMC failed to publicise the tenders in the media and that only two bids were received of which one was rejected on technical grounds.
According to municipal rules, the civic administration has to process at least three tenders for contracts above Rs5 lakh. According to the PPP agreement, the private party was expected to bear the cost of electricity, water, oxygen, nitrous, telephone and generator. However, the PCMC official had allegedly removed this clause for the benefit of the private party.
Thus, the civic body had to bear an additional burden of Rs7.57 crore. Madigeri alleged that despite the huge investment of Rs23.71 crore, the PCMC was just getting Rs9 lakh as rent from the private party.
He also alleged that according to the town planning department estimates, the civic body must receive Rs8.20 crore as rent from the cathlab in 20 years. However, under the current scenario, it will earn just Rs4 crore in 20 years. The municipal corporation was set to lose Rs5 crore on rent, besides Rs41.28 crore from instrument and Rs7.57 crore due to deletion of clause on other expenses, totalling a loss of Rs54.27 crore.
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