Rodent scam: Maharashtra government to cover up rat scam but ends up raising more stink

Mumbai: The rodent scam is getting murkier and points to a bigger fraud. The registered address of the rat-catcher company, Vinayak MSSM, does not exist. Moreover, the sanstha owner is said to have died in 2008.

However, as per Ram Kadam, this very registered company was given the contract for ‘eradication of rats’ even in 2011-2012. A question that the CM and the government need to answer is: If ‘eradication’ was the avowed aim and failed in 2011-2012, why was no objection raised when a similar task of ‘eradication’ was against entrusted to the same company? Also, why was this same company given the contract again, if the rodent menace had been eradicated?

With that, a whole new scam is unravelling, which has forced the Devendra Fadnavis government on the backfoot. The pesticide company had bid for ‘eradication of rats’ in and around Mantralaya main and annexe building.’ Two tenders were issued and given to Vinayak MSSM for a period of two months for a sanctioned amount of Rs 240,000.

Also Read: Maharashtra: 3 lakh rats killed in Mantralaya in just 7 days, Eknath Khadse demands inquiry

BJP spokesperson Ram Kadam on Friday rushed to the media to defend the government and asserted that the same pesticide company had been given the contract in 2011-2012, too, for killing rats; also, the cost sheet showed purchase of traps and tablets, not the number of rats.

“All tablets were provided at a rate of Rs 1.5 each, for a total sum of Rs 479,100. And they were purchased at the same rate as in 2016. Two tenders were issued to control/kill rodents in Mantralay and the Annexe building. According to the contract, 3,19,400 odd anti-rodent tablets were provided,” Kadam told media.

However, Kadam had not read the very papers of Public Works Department which he circulated to media. As per papers that Free Press Journal is in possession of, the work contract clearly states, ‘The name of work as Eradication of Rats in and around Mantralay main Bldg and annexe.’ The date of completion is shown as May 10, 2016, and the Deputy Engineer South Sub Division has certified this work contract as “Nothing is due from the contractor, there are no quality control remarks on this work, and the work was carried out satisfactorily, as per conditions in the tender.” The main condition as per the tender is ‘eradication of rats.’

However, contrary to the lame defence put up by Kadam, papers circulated by PWD clearly show that the contractor has stated ‘description of item’ as “Eradication of rats by placement of poison baits of zinc phosphide mixed with atta, sweet oil, pulverised sugar, etc.” Former revenue minister Eknath Khadse had exposed this scam in the legislative assembly, as per the contractor’s admission that over 3 lakh rats were killed in Mantralay in one week. Khadse told FPJ, “The main question still remains, what became of these rats? The company clearly states that their mission was to eradicate and the items purchased were for those 3 lakh odd rats. They have fleeced the government, they should tell how they destroyed these rats,” he demanded.

By late evening, the entire episode of eradication of rats turned out to be a lame attempt by the government to cover up the allegations. Instead, the Bharatiya Janata Party stood divided in public. When Kadam was asked who pushed him forward to try and cover up this scam, he said, “I was informed TV channels were planning specials on this issue and as a spokesperson I wanted to put out facts and clarify any confusion.” He admitted, “I did not consult Khadse before doing so.”

The contractor in his submission has given an entire break-up number, not specifying rats or pesticide, on each floor of Mantralay building for this mission. The fact is, the stink raised by Khadse is slowly turning out to be one scam. BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in its entire history has never called killing of rats as ‘eradication.’ The civic body has taken two years to kill six lakhs rats and the insecticide department categorically states that ‘no living being can ever be eradicated’.

BMC Insecticide officer Dr Rajan Naringrekar told the Free Press Journal, “No living being can be eradicated on Earth. The activity only involves controlling the rat menace. BMC has their own permanent employees to kill rats while for the suburban region Non-Government Organisations (NGO) have been hired to do the work.”

(With input from Sweety Adimulam)