Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has turned into the playing field of a powerful contractor cartel, looting thousands of crores from Mumbai’s citizens, charged the Congress on Friday.
Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant revealed that the pipeline project from Gundavali tunnel shaft to Modaksagar Y-junction dome was artificially inflated from ₹2,500 crore to ₹3,500 crore, with tender clauses tailor-made to eliminate competition.
Tender Conditions Written for the Cartel
A clause mandates fabrication facilities must be located within 150 km of the project site. This absurd condition effectively restricts eligibility to just two companies – Vishal Enterprises and Samruddhi. These companies already have MoUs with select contractors, ensuring competition is killed in advance. A similar manipulation was seen earlier in a controversial contract awarded to APCO, involving the same manufacturers.
Classic Case of Cartelisation – Congress
“Why 150 km? Why not 149 or 151? The only criteria should be quality and timely completion. This clause is nothing but a tailor-made tool to hand over contracts to favourites. It’s a classic case of cartelisation inside BMC,” said Sawant.
Mumbai Congress president MP Varsha Gaikwad added: “In BMC, the contractor is decided first, and tenders are floated later. The so-called Urban Development Department has become an Urban Disaster Department under the Mahayuti government.”
Congress alleged that such cartelisation is inflating project costs by 30–40%, effectively looting Mumbai’s taxpayers. “BMC has become a cartel corporation. This loot must end immediately,” demanded Congress leaders.
