The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has scrapped a Rs 90-crore tender for a foot overbridge (FOB) in Vikhroli, following a one-member committee inquiry prompted by complaints of cartelisation and rigging from Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab.
MMRDA decision on tender cancellation
MMRDA further announced that it will forfeit the earnest money deposits (EMD) of bidders who qualified but later withdrew from the tender process. In a letter to Parab, MMRDA director (Projects) Basavaraj Bhadragond stated, "MMRDA has decided to cancel the tender. This cancellation will not adversely affect the Metro Line 6 project, which is scheduled to be operational in 2027. The EMDs of bidders who withdrew from the tender process are being forfeited, and further action is being initiated in accordance with terms and conditions after due examination."
Anil Parab's response
Welcoming the decision, Parab said, "This is a clear acknowledgment that my concerns about cartelisation and rigging were valid. However, merely cancelling one tender is not enough. MMRDA must take the strictest possible action against those responsible, including blacklisting the companies that colluded and ensuring that such practices are not repeated. MMRDA tenders are riddled with corruption and cartelisation. I will continue to expose them."
Background of the complaint
On April 10, Parab wrote to MMRDA chief Sanjay Mukherjee alleging large-scale irregularities in tenders for laying fiber optic cables on Atal Setu, the BKC–Chunabhatti connector, and the Vikhroli FOB. "In the case of the Vikhroli FOB tender, it has not yet been opened even after two months of closing. Initially, eight bidders had participated, but six were forced to withdraw under pressure. Now, two bidders remain, and MMRDA is preparing to award the tender to M/s Speco. The companies that withdrew should be blacklisted and their security deposits forfeited," he claimed.
Parab had predicted that Speco would bag the tender, and the company was indeed shortlisted by MMRDA before the tender was cancelled.
MMRDA's inquiry and reasoning
Following Parab's complaint, MMRDA set up a one-member committee to conduct an inquiry and decided to scrap the tender process based on its findings. In a statement, MMRDA said, "Initiating infrastructure works on a highly congested corridor like the JVLR during the pre-monsoon period is deemed neither technically appropriate nor conducive to public convenience. Since the actual commencement of work would inevitably have to be deferred until after the monsoon season, there exists a potential risk of both time overruns and cost escalations. Having given comprehensive and thorough consideration to all factors, MMRDA has decided to cancel the tender process with the objective of eliciting a more competitive and broader response."
Parab's warning
Parab alleged that MMRDA seems to have adopted a new modus operandi: float tenders, invite bids, pressure some bidders to withdraw, and then award contracts to a specific company. If this is not stopped, the issue will be taken up before the Lokayukta, Central Vigilance Commission, and legislature, he warned.
