Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday gave three months to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police to file a charge sheet against erring Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials accused in the de-silting scam last year.
A Division Bench of Justices R.M. Savant and Sadhana Jadhav was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist Vivekanand Gupta about irregularities by the BMC in construction of roads and a scam in the process of de-silting drains. The road repair and de-silting scams were estimated to be worth ₹905 crore and ₹150 crore respectively. The PIL sought for the probe to be transferred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
In the last hearing, an affidavit filed by the EOW said it is still investigation the roles and responsibilities of BMC officials, and that the probe was of a technical nature as the officers had to collect documentary evidence. As many as 24 people have been arrested in the case, and 14 staff members have been suspended.
On March 9, the EOW counsel submitted an interim investigation report in a sealed envelope. The court had directed the government to file an affidavit pointing out relevant steps taken by the agency. The court said, “It is a matter of common knowledge that the huge amount was spent for repairing the roads and canals in actual reality, this work is not undertaken in a proper manner and every year flooding takes place in various parts of the city and the huge amount which is spent for carrying out repairs of the roads goes down in drain, obviously, in the pocket of cunning officers.”