Probe into BMC spend: SIT registers three PEs

The Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the Mumbai police has registered three preliminary enquiries into alleged irregularities in the expenditure of ?12,024 crore by nine departments of the BMC. The enquiries cover an expenditure of around ?5,700 crore and include a land deal flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The CAG had conducted an audit at the request of the government. The SIT, led by Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar, is investigating the alleged irregularities.

MUMBAI: The Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the Mumbai police, set up by the government to investigate alleged irregularities in an expenditure of ₹12,024 crore by nine departments of the BMC, has registered three preliminary enquiries (PEs). A senior police official said that the three enquiries covered an expenditure of around ₹5,700 crore.

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The first of the three inquiries relates to an expenditure of around ₹5,000 incurred by the roads department and five related departments of the civic body. The second one, with an expenditure of over ₹500 crore, relates to the information technology and bridges department, while the third one pertains to alleged irregularities in a Dahisar land deal, which was flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and which was said to be overvalued by around ₹206 crore. The CAG had conducted an audit on the special request of the Shinde-Fadnavis government.

The BMC had acquired the said plot of land admeasuring 32,395 square metres at Eksar Village in Dahisar for setting up public facilities in 1993. The CAG report had pointed out that the BMC had prepared its road designs without detailed soil investigation and traffic survey. It also pointed out that a delay of eight years in acquiring the land for public purposes had led to an increase in the cost of acquisition by over 716 percent. While the proposal for the land acquisition was moved in 2011, it was eventually acquired in February 2020.

The SIT, apart from Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar, comprises officers like Nishit Mishra, joint commissioner of police, Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Sangramsinh Nishandar, DCP EOW, two ACPs and ten police inspectors from EOW.

Shinde’s decision, taken at the chief minister’s office (CMO), put the Shiv Sena (UBT) under the scanner, leading to speculations that civic polls were likely in the next few months. The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena ruled the BMC for over two decades, and the present Shinde-led Sena-BJP alliance governing the state is aiming to wrest control of the civic body.

The CAG, in its audit report, had criticised the BMC for careless handling of funds, lack of transparency, and mismanagement while awarding contracts related to road, waste management and other projects between November 28, 2019, and October 31, 2022. The report pointed out that the tendering process was not followed in most cases, resulting in unfair benefit to contractors.

“The state government was considering handing over the probe to the anti-corruption bureau (ACB), but later it was decided to constitute a special team,” said a senior official from the home department. A statement issued by the CMO stated, “The CAG’s special audit was instituted after BJP MLA Ameet Satam, who represents the Andheri West constituency, requested the CM to investigate the irregularities by setting up a special inquiry committee.”

Among the many alleged lapses, the CAG observed that two of the civic body’s departments issued 20 work orders worth ₹214.48 crore without tenders, while work orders worth ₹4,756 crore were given to 64 contractors, which could not be executed, as no agreement was signed with them. In addition, due to the non-appointment of a third-party auditor, the BMC could not conduct an audit of 13 orders worth ₹3,356 crore to check their quality.

The contracts related to Covid-19 could not be probed, as the civic body had invoked the provisions of the Epidemic Act 1897 and Disaster Management Act 2005, which allow the authorities to not follow the mandated rules because of time constraints.