Shelar alleges irregularities worth Rs 1600 crore loom high over Mumbai Coastal Road Project

Blacklist the corrupt consultants and constitute SIT probe into the matter, demands BJP leader MLA Adv. Ashish Shelar

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Mumbai: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, MLA Adv Ashish Shelar on Saturday alleged massive irregularities in the construction of the much-touted Mumbai Coastal Road project amounting almost to the tune of Rs 1,600 crores. The road connecting the northern and southern Mumbai along the coastline of the Arabian Sea is an important connectivity for Mumbaikars and hence Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray must look into the matter.

Speaking to newspersons here, he said that the chief minister must not just blacklist the errant consultants but also institute a probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for the wrongdoings and embezzlement in the project. He also wrote a letter to the Union Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav requesting him to seek an explanation from the BMC in compliance with the environment norms.

Earlier on September 6, BJP leader MLA Adv. Ashish Shelar had alleged that there was an over Rs 1000 crore scam in the coastal road project. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had issued an instant response that there was no corruption or irregularity in the work.

The senior BJP MLA stated that the coastal road project is a dream project of the BJP as well. Since it is the most crucial project for the city, the former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had got all the necessary permissions for the project at the earliest. But looking at the execution of the project, the quality of work is poor and the future of the project seems to be in jeopardy.

Shelar added that BJP is not against the project, but it is against the corruption in it. BJP leader MLA Adv. Ashish Shelar reiterated that the BJP also wants the project and appealed to the Shiv Sena not to make it a prestige issue but take their suggestions seriously to rectify the wrongdoings in the project. 

Presenting evidence of corruption and malpractices from December 2019 to 2020, MLA Adv. Ashish Shelar said that the BMC’s standing committee had appointed two consultants for the phase – Priyadarshini Park on Malabar Hill to Baroda Palace (near Haji Ali). The consultants namely A E Com was appointed as the general consultant whereas Louis Berger was appointed as the project consultant.

The standing committee had approved Rs 600 crore to be paid to both these consultants. These two consultants were appointed to ensure that the work is done in the right direction.

The two consultants provided lists of quarries from where the backfill material can be procured as well as the density of material to be used for the reclamation. In fact, instead of procuring the material from the quarries recommended by these consultants, the material was procured from other unapproved quarries thus raising doubts about the quality of the project posing a threat to the project. 

Nearly 8.5 lakh tonnes of material used for reclamation was procured and purchased illegally from the following six quarries – Gavhan 356/9 Shree Construction, Kundehval S.N. 41/1 Vaibhav Construction, Kundheval S.N.53 Bhatat Construction, Kundheval S.N.54 Deep Infra, Kundheval S.N. 51/2 and Kundehval S.N. 58. Why was the consignment taken from these six quarries when it was not certified by the consultant? What are their affiliations? Whom do the quarries belong to and who will benefit from these transactions? asked Shelar.

In the second case, the quarry was certified but the material procured was uncertified. Gawan 356/9 and Kundehval S.N. 51/1 quarries were approved for the supply of material but the material procured was not certified.

In the third instance, the material called Armor that was supposed to be procured from Kundheval S.N 53, Kundheval S.N. 54, Kundheval S.N. 51/2 and Kundheval S.N. 58 quarries were not procured. Whereas Pushpak Node quarry is one such example where when the material was procured the quarry was not certified but later got fabricated and it became an approved quarry for supply of material. Thus, a total of 2.8 million tonnes of sub-standard quality material has been dumped into the sea in the last one year.

“Why was the advice given by the consultants appointed by the BMC not followed?”, questioned Shelar. The officials from the BMC were supposed to overlook the execution which in turn was supposed to be overlooked by the consultant who would then be answerable to the standing committee who was expected to keep a close eye on it. But it never happened and hence the inferior quality material got dumped into the sea, he added.

Shelar also wrote a letter to Union Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav in which he has asked the ministry to clarify if the said terms and conditions agreed upon by the BMC while seeking an approval for the project from the union ministry have been adhered to. If the environment norms have not been fulfilled the union environment ministry must immediately seek clarification from the BMC in this regard.

“The BMC must not shield the errant contractors. We are willing to discuss the project in the interest of Mumbaikars. The ruling Shiv Sena must understand the flaws and work towards its rectification and not make it a matter of prestige, else we will further expose the malpractices before Diwali”, warned BJP leader MLA Adv. Ashish Shelar.