The Bombay high court on Thursday reserved order on a PIL challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) standing committee’s decision to award contracts to tainted bidders.
The Bombay high court on Thursday reserved order on a PIL challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) standing committee’s decision to award contracts to tainted bidders.
The division bench of Justice Shantanu Kemkar and Justice M.S. Karnik reserved order after hearing arguments from senior counsel Mihir Desai, who appeared as amicus curiae (friend of court), to assist the court in this matter, BMC counsel Anil Sakhre and lawyers of some other parties connected with the case.
The PIL had been filed by activist Jaishree Khadilkar. However, the court converted it into a suo motu (on its own motion) public interest litigation and started hearing on the issue.
Advocate Desai argued that out of more than 200 roads, the BMC had randomly taken samples of 34 roads and found all of them were of very bad quality. Hence FIRs were lodged against the contractors who had constructed these roads and showcause notices were issued to them. However, they continued to get new contracts although the BMC should not have done so, he argued.
On the other hand, the BMC has claimed the process of inviting bidding and selecting contractors had started long ago and, according to rules, contracts could be granted to any bidder if he is not blacklisted. According to the BMC, when the process to award contracts had begun, there was no complaint against these contractors and hence the decision is right.
It may be recalled that the vacation HC bench comprising Justice Bhushan R. Gavai and Justice Dr Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi had stayed decision of awarding contracts to J. Kumar Infraprojects Ltd and RPS Infraprojects Pvt Ltd, which were awarded work of re-construction of Hancock bridge in South Mumbai, expansion and widening of bridge on Mithi River and works of bridge at Yari Road in Andheri and Vikhroli. The judges had deferred this PIL to be decided by a regular bench.
