CBI books ex-officials of Tata firm, JNPT in ₹800 crore project fraud case. What investigation found
CBI files case against former officials of TCE, JNPT, and two dredging firms over irregularities exceeding ₹800 crore in the dredging project.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against former officials of Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE), Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and and two dredging companies over alleged irregularities worth over ₹800 crore in the Capital Dredging Project to deepen ship navigational channels near Mumbai, news agency PTI reported, citing officials.
The federal investigative agency acted following a three-year preliminary inquiry into allegations that included inflated project estimates, manipulation of competition to benefit foreign bidders, granting undue favours to contractors, and the suppression of findings from independent expert bodies.
Names of officials booked by CBI
The CBI, in its FIR, has booked the then chief engineer of JNPT Sunil Kumar Madabhavi, then project director of TCE, Devdutt Bose, Boskalis Smit India LLP, Jan De Nul Dredging India Pvt Ltd and other unidentified public servants under IPC Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
After the FIR was registered on Wednesday, the CBI conducted searches at five locations in Mumbai and Chennai, including the residence of Madabhavi, Bose and offices of private companies.
A CBI spokesperson said the searches recovered a number of documents relating to the Capital Dredging Project, digital devices, and documents showing investments made by public servants.
The documents recovered are being examined, she said in a statement.
No immediate reaction was available from the accused companies, the PTI report said.
"The allegations of pecuniary advantage obtained by the private companies as a result of abuse of official position by the JNPT officials resulting into a huge wrongful loss to the exchequer, spread over the period from 2003 to 2014 (phase-I of the project) and 2013 to 2019 (phase-II of the project) was also inquired," the CBI said in the FIR.
The CBI probe found
- The inquiry revealed a criminal conspiracy involving officials of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), private individuals, including an executive from Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE), and others.
- This alleged collusion resulted in wrongful losses of ₹365.90 crore during Phase-I and ₹438 crore in Phase-II of the dredging project due to over-dredging.
- The case stems from a project initiated by JNPT in 2003 to deepen and widen the shared navigational channel with Mumbai Port to accommodate larger cargo vessels.
- TCE was engaged to prepare the final report for Capital Dredging Phase-I, which it submitted in 2010 in collaboration with Dredging Solution. The company was also appointed as the project management consultant, responsible for drafting tender documents and supervising project execution, according to the FIR.
- The CBI's preliminary inquiry found that JNPT officials, in collusion with TCE executives, structured the tender conditions to favour international bidders. They allegedly violated Competition Commission of India (CCI) norms by permitting complimentary bidding and enabling the formation of a joint venture between Boskalis Smit India LLP and Jan De Nul Dredging India Pvt Ltd (BSI-JDN JV), the only qualified bidders.
- The probe also highlighted multiple violations, including irregularities in rate fixation for different rock types, delays in project execution, a false claim of ₹348 crore by the contractor for unexecuted work, excess payments amounting to ₹430 crore, and manipulation of the pre-dredge survey using less accurate software, ‘Qinsy’, among other issues.
(With inputs from PTI)
