Mumbai: In a major embarrassment, BMC scrapped a Rs 385-crore tender for installation of railings on footpaths across the city within hours of floating it last Friday. The U-turn came after city BJP chief Ameet Satam alleged a scam and pointed out that the civic body had already spent nearly Rs 300 crore on street furniture, including railings, in recent years.BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani told TOI that the tender had been cancelled “for the time being”. “We may consider reprocessing it after revising specifications and making it more competitive.” He said the street furniture installed earlier has not been stolen and footpaths have been maintained. BMC’s last tender for installation of street furniture, worth Rs 263 crore, had also come under a cloud in 2023 following complaints from BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) that the prices of many items had been inflated. A Lokayukta inquiry was initiated. A civic committee found that nine of the 13 items were overpriced, and the tender was truncated by Rs 50 crore. Despite that, it is alleged that BMC cleared street furniture worth close to Rs 300 crore later. The new tender was floated by BMC’s central purchase department and cancelled after Satam, who is also Andheri West MLA, sent a letter to Gagrani. He demanded the tender be scrapped immediately and the focus be shifted to more worthwhile projects instead of public money being wasted on such works. “…BMC had earlier given a tender for Rs 150 crore to Shantinath Roadways more than two years ago for street furniture that included railings and bollards and over and above this, another Rs 150-crore work was given to the same company some time back,” Satam said in his letter. “When work to the tune of Rs 300 crore is already given, what is the need for another Rs 385-crore tender for railings?” Alleging a gross misuse of public funds and mala fide intent, he said the tender was also rigged to favour a particular company. “I have credible information that some persons from the entertainment business have recently seen BMC liaisoning as a new profession and find it to be more lucrative and these persons are behind this new tender. There was a discussion in the assembly where reasons for BMC’s inability to build a new E-ward office was discussed. Why building a new ward office is not a priority of BMC but putting railings worth Rs 385 crore is is best known to those persons who have rooted this idea,” said the letter.
