Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has once again written a letter to Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal regarding the alleged street furniture scam in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Aditya Thackeray shared a letter on X (formerly known as Twitter), “I have written a letter to the @mybmc seeking answers on the street furniture scam that the BMC administration has indulged in, to help a contractor friend of the Mindhe-BJP illegal regime- the most corrupt and shameless illegal Govt in the country,” he wrote.
Previously, Aaditya Thackeray had also written a letter to the Governor regarding this matter. In the letter, he requested the Governor's intervention to prevent the street furniture scam and urged for an inquiry to be conducted by the Lokayukta to ensure fairness.
WHAT IS THE STREET FURNITURE SCAM?
A tender process was carried out in January 2023 to award a contract of Rs 263 crore for the procurement of street furniture, primarily pots and benches. It included a total of 13 items. It was stipulated that these 13 items should be supplied by a single contractor. Due to this, the list of contractors was reduced in the tender process, but two companies were awarded the contract.
It is alleged that both companies have no experience of supplying street furniture. Moreover, the contract was awarded by the central procurement department of the BMC - which usually floats tenders for health department items. A contract for street furniture should normally have been issued by the roads department.
Allegations arose that officials of the central procurement department in the BMC were involved in tender fixing. After the allegations were levelled against the BMC, the contract was cancelled.