The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will reissue tenders for the construction of four bridges including one over the Yari Road, and the Hancock bridge. On Wednesday, the standing committee passed a proposal to cancel the original tenders awarded to contractors indicted for substandard pre-monsoon road work last year.

The standing committee passed a proposal earlier in May, awarding construction of four prominent bridges in the city to RPS Infra and J. Kumar. However, these two contractors are part of the six contractors against whom the BMC lodged an FIR for providing substandard service in pre-monsoon road works, earlier in April.

The BMC invited tenders for construction of four bridges in the city, including the Hancock Bridge at Sandhurst Road railway station, a bridge at Vikhroli, the Lokhandwala creek bridge in Andheri, and one on the Mithi River at Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The contract was earlier awarded to RPS Infra and J Kumar despite objection from the opposition party members due to the FIRs against them, under the pretext that these contractors were not yet blacklisted by the BMC.

At that time, the administration declared that it would take responsibility in case substandard work was produced on these bridges as well.

In defence of the proposal, a senior civic official had said, “Over the years, these are the only contractors who have expertise in construction of bridges. They have always bid for such projects.”

However, following a court order directing the BMC to withdraw the contracts handed over to tainted contractors, the BMC had to take back its own proposal.

The standing committee on Wednesday passed the decision to withdraw these contracts. It will now re-issue tenders online, for the construction of the four bridges.