MUMBAI: The BMC, which had invited bids for the desilting of the Mithi river ahead of the monsoon, received no response from contractors till its March 11 deadline, forcing the civic administration to extend the tender deadline to March 17.The proposed desilting work is planned in three phases, covering the stretch from Filter Pada to Mahim creek, and is considered to be crucial for the city before the onset of monsoon.Civic officials said the river accumulates large amounts of silt every year, which reduces its carrying capacity and increases the risk of flooding. Earlier this month, concerns had emerged within the BMC administration about a possible lack of interest from contractors in the tender, especially in the backdrop of the ongoing probe by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police into the alleged Mithi river desilting scam.The investigation last year led to the arrest of civic officials and contractors over alleged irregularities in desilting works.In a first this year, the civic body had reduced both the quantity of silt to be removed and kept it at 1.65 lakh metric tonnes, a steep reduction from 2.67 lakh metric tonnes last year, also bringing the contract value down by nearly half – from Rs 48 crore to Rs 29.5 crore. Officials said that the Mithi river flows through several low-lying and flood-prone areas such as Kurla, LBS Marg and Chunabhatti, making annual desilting critical to prevent waterlogging at the time of heavy rainfall. During a recent meeting of the civic standing committee, BJP corporator from Malad Tajinder Tiwana, in a point of order, questioned why the civic body could not carry out the work directly through its own machinery and staff if contractors were unwilling to participate in the tender process. BJP’s Mumbai chief Ameet Satam had also last week in a letter he sent to Mumbai mayor Ritu Tawde as well as the civic chief pointed out the same.However, officials said, “The work on desilting the Mithi river needs to begin from April 1 latest as it will increase the carrying capacity of the river.” At the same time, there are serious apprehensions about whether the municipal corporation will be able to carry out the work departmentally. Last year, after contractors abandoned the work mid-way, the BMC had made serious attempts to get other contractors to complete the remaining portion of the work. However, at that time as well, no other contractor came forward to take up the remaining work ahead of the monsoon season.
