Civil works contractor-driven, not need based: Chief Auditor warned ex-BMC chief

The irregularities in the current civil work contract system of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) were brought to light much before the civic body's chief accountant circulated an internal note about malpractices, sparking a controversy. Fifteen months before Chief Accountant (Finance) Ram Dhas's note, the Municipal Chief Auditor had sounded alarm bells about unfair practices and irregularities in handing out civil work contracts.

The continuous test audits of 5 to 10 per cent of the civil repairs work carried by the chief auditor's staff, before the letter was prepared, alleged irregularities such as repetition of civil repair work on same site by ward-level contractors and Central agencies.

In a five-page letter, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, to former Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar, the then Chief Auditor P Pisolkar had alleged that the handing out of CWC contracts has become 'contractor driven' rather than 'need based'. His letter alleged that "game of influence, pressure and favouritism are resorted by these contractors in all 24 wards and three major hospitals, making it a 'contractor driven project' of Rs 2,200 crore in entire BMC".

The letter, dated January 20, 2011, urged the Municipal Commissioner to look into the Rs 2,200 crore CWC contract work management and issue strict instruction by way of circular for monitoring these works.

According to Additional Municipal Commissioner Rajeev Jalota, "Following the letter, we had reissued and clarified some old circulars which listed precautionary measures to ensure quality of work and timely execution of work."

According to the letter, while the annual contracts are of Rs 1,100 crore for 110 contracts, the provisions for the work are usually Rs 825 crore to Rs 850 crore for each administrative ward, which has to be distributed amongst four-five contractors. This prompts contractors to influence local councillors and pressurise engineers and finance departments officials to extract their share from the limited available resources.

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