Bidding Cartel, Bloated Costs, Collusion: Rs 12,000 Crore Scam Rocks Samruddhi Connector — Whistleblowers Seek SIT Probe

X: @vivekbhavsar

Mumbai: In what could be one of the biggest infrastructure tender scams in recent years, serious allegations of cartelisation, overpricing, and official collusion have emerged in the award of contracts for the ₹12,000 crore Jalna-Nanded connector project — a key extension of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg. A formal complaint addressed to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra has demanded immediate cancellation of all awarded work orders and a high-level SIT (Special Investigation Team) probe into the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and the private contractors involved.

The 179-km expressway, divided into six EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) packages, was meant to provide critical connectivity to the economically backward Marathwada region. However, documents accessed through RTI and tender records reveal an alarming uniformity: in all six work packages, a select group of companies — including Apco Infratech, Montecarlo Ltd, PNC Infratech, and others — allegedly submitted bids that were inflated between 29% to nearly 39% over the government’s own cost estimates.

More worryingly, the MSRDC officials not only accepted these inflated bids without scrutiny but rushed to issue work orders to the same handful of firms.

*Package-by-Package Breakdown of Suspected Overpricing:

The pattern is unmistakable. Each contract was awarded to a bidder quoting far above the official estimates, with zero disqualification for overpricing and no efforts to re-tender or seek competitive pricing.

“This is not a pricing anomaly — it’s a premeditated plunder of public funds,” said whistleblower and Maharashtra Navnirnan Sena (MNS) post holder Tushar Aphale, who submitted the petition to the Chief Minister. “These companies appear to have formed a bidding cartel, submitting deliberately inflated prices. The MSRDC’s acceptance of such bids without negotiation or resistance strongly suggests collusion at the top.”

The letter has requested the CM’s Office to cancel all six work orders issued on October 14, 2024, launch a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe to investigate MSRDC officers and contractors for criminal conspiracy, corruption, and misuse of public office and conduct a full audit of all EPC-mode projects approved by MSRDC in the past five years.

The names of recurring contractors in this project also appear in several other infrastructure projects across the state — often awarded at similarly high premiums. “The same few companies keep appearing in major tenders, often quoting abnormal rates and still bagging the contracts,” Aphale said. “This is not market competition — it’s a racket.”

According to sources within the infrastructure sector, some contractors may have even coordinated bid amounts in advance to maintain the illusion of competition while ensuring each package was rotated among cartel members.

Despite the scale of the alleged wrongdoing, the MSRDC has not issued any public clarification or internal inquiry notice. A source within the department, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that “the tender process did raise eyebrows internally,” but concerns were ignored by higher-ups “under pressure.”

Based on cost escalations across all six packages, the inflated component of the tender could be over ₹3,000 crore, according to preliminary calculations — public money that could have been saved through honest, competitive bidding.

If proven, this would mark one of the largest infrastructure tender scams in Maharashtra’s recent history — and a significant blot on the state’s promise of transparency and fiscal prudence.

With the opposition already accusing the government of favoring corporate interests, the explosive revelations in the Samruddhi connector project could ignite a fresh controversy in the public discourse. Demands are expected to intensify for the resignation or suspension of key MSRDC officials involved in the bid approvals.

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Will the government act before the concrete is poured and the money lost forever? Or will silence once again protect the corrupt?