Mumbai road scam: BMC chief asks inquiry panel to specify punishment for guilty officers

The panel submitted an incomplete report on the first phase of the inquiry – in which the BMC incurred a cost of Rs352 crore – a day after the allotted deadline.

The commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Ajoy Mehta, on Thursday, asked a committee of civic officials conducting the first phase of the inquiry into the Rs1,700-crore road scam, unearthed in 2015, to rework its report as it did not specify the punishment to be awarded to the guilty officers.

BMC comissioner Ajoy Mehta on Thursday, asked a committee of civic officials conducting the first phase of the inquiry into the Rs1,700-crore road scam to rework its report as it did not specify the punishment to be awarded to the guilty officers. (HT File)

The panel submitted an incomplete report on the first phase of the inquiry – in which the BMC incurred a cost of Rs352 crore – a day after the allotted deadline.

Mehta has now asked the panel to submit the final copy within a week.

This report provides proof of the involvement of about 100 civic officials, who were allegedly indicted in phase one of the inspection of 34 roads.

“In its report, the inquiry committee did not define the punishment to be given to indicted officials. The report merely listed out their role. However, punishment ranges from termination, suspension, withholding promotion and increment, to a mere memo, based on the involvement of the official in the irregularities. Even though the report clarified their involvement, it does not tabulate the punishment,” said a source.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Mehta said, “I have asked the committee to define quantum of punishment to be given to each official indicted in the report. The report submitted to me has details of roads allotted to each official for inspection and the irregularities found, such as, missing payment receipts and percentage of shoddy work. But this needs to be analysed to define the percentage of involvement of each official. Some among the 100 will be guiltier than others and the BMC cannot act against them using the same parameters.”

Mehta had asked the committee to submit this final report, indicting 100 officials responsible for maintaining 34 roads, by December 26. The directive followed a report by Hindustan Times on November 13, pointing out BMC’s inaction against the allegedly indicted officials, six months after show-cause notices were sent to them. Similarly, Mehta also gave a deadline of January 31 to submit a report on the 187 officials responsible for maintaining 200 roads, which forms phase two of the inquiry. Recently, the BMC sent
show cause notices to these
187 officials.

The inquiry committee comprised of BMC’s chief inquiry officer and two other officers.