As details are revealed more contractors are set to be booked and more officials face suspension.
The heat of the probe into the Rs 150 crore de-silting scam is set to spread to more contractors and officials. Contractors have failed to submit records of their fuel bills used by trucks to transport silt and haven't been able to submit receipts of vehicle tracking devices that were to be installed on their trucks.
According to officials, more contractors will be booked in the scam and more officials will also face suspension.
"We had asked the contractors to submit all their fuel bills and purchase receipts for the vehicle tracking devices. None of the contractors have submitted them so far. This means that the tracking devices were never installed at all. The trucks never made the number of trips that the contractors are claiming," said a senior civic official.
Last week, the BMC had suspended 14 officials and registered FIRs against three contractors in connection with the scam. While 10 engineers from the Storm Water Drain (SWD) department were suspended, the BMC had also suspended Uday Murudkar, chief engineer (vigilance). Apart from Murudkar, six sub-engineers, four assistant engineers and three supervisors, from the SWD department were suspended.
FIRs have been filed against de-silting contractors Ms Aakash Engineering, Ms RE Infra and Ms Naresh Traders, weigh bridge operators Ms Lucky Weigh Bridge, Ms Sairaj Weigh Bridge and Ms Deonar Weigh Bridge and vehicle tracking system operator Ms Plexitech Pvt Ltd. Of these, the three contractors have been blacklisted. Officials said that the BMC had also appointed a third party firm to go through the contractor's data.
"A probe is on and we are going through all the details," said Sanjay Deshmukh, additional municipal commissioner, who is heading the probe. The BMC had last week blacklisted three of the contractors against whom FIRs were lodged.
"All the contractors must be blacklisted. No silt was ever transported. The BMC should permanently block the vendor identities of these contractors. Otherwise, they will continue to bid for tenders in other departments. The BMC must also file a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)," said Congress legislator Aslam Shaikh.
Officials said that in the next phase, more engineers would face suspension and more contractors would be blacklisted too.
The city saw massive floods following a heavy downpour on June 18 and 19 this year. BMC's claims of being rain-ready after spending Rs.150 crore were washed away, as not just low-lying areas, but several localities saw water-logging. Following the floods, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta had ordered a probe into the de-silting operations.
Blacklisted contractors
Ms Aakash Engineering, Ms RE Infra and Ms Naresh Traders
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