‘Blacklisted’ firm in new avatar is favourite for Rs 7 crore BMC contract

MUMBAI: Corporators on Wednesday raised a stink in the civic standing committee meeting over the BMC’s proposal to give a contract for transporting a part of the city’s garbage to the contractor Kaviraj MBB, alleged to be the new avatar of a firm blacklisted in the 2015 desilting scam.



The Rs 7 crore proposal is to transport garbage from various wards in south Mumbai, which is brought to the Mahalaxmi refuse transfer centre via mini compactors, to the dumping ground in Deonar.

BJP corporators who flagged off the issue on Wednesday said the BMC planned to give the almost Rs7 crore contract to Kaviraj MBB, when another company belonging to the same contractor, Shree Kaviraj Infratech, had been blacklisted in the desilting scam. BJP’s Prabhakar Shinde said, “The civic administration has brought to light the road scam and desilting scam but this proposal defeats the purpose. Why the BMC is favouring the firm needs to be inquired into. There appears to be corruption in the solid waste management department, and a white paper on it must be brought out.”

Another BJP corporator, Makrand Narwekar, said BMC should make a statement that there is no nexus between the two firms. “Considering these two are clearly linked, it would not be possible for the administration to do that,” he said. Some corporators questioned the need to take garbage to Mahalaxmi and asked why it couldn’t be taken directly to the dumping ground. The BMC, however, defended itself saying the two companies were different.

“We have already given a contract to M/s Kaviraj MBB Waste Management to transport garbage from the Gorai garbage transfer centre to the three dumping grounds—Deonar, Mulund and Kanjurmarg-- recently. This was after seeking legal opinion. So now again, as they are the lowest bidders, the contract can be proposed to be given to them again,” an official from the solid waste management department said. The standing committee however sought more details in the matter, and the proposal has been put on hold. The Gorai garbage transfer centre, handled by Kaviraj MBB, receives approximately 300 tonnes of garbage daily from the Goregaon-Dahisar region. Since the Gorai dumping ground has been shut, the garbage from the region is taken to the dumping grounds in the eastern suburbs.