Harsh Yadav (Nagpur)
Irregularities are nothing new in Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) but this case must take the pride of place among all such aberrancies.
NIT asked a contractor M/s. Hitesh Construction run by Prakash Potpuse to build a tar road and storm water drain in Tulsi Nagar, Bhandewadi in October 2022. Five months later, NMC's slum department asked the same contractor to build a concrete road and storm water drain at the same place. The contractor calmly executed the works, pocketing a total of about Rs 4.95 crore in the two contracts. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Upesh Utkhede has alleged a major scam in these works. Lokmat Times has copies of stinky documents which are indicative of something fishy.
NIT's superintending engineer on October 12, 2022 had issued a work order to M/s. Hitesh Construction for building a tar road and storm water drain in Tulsi Nagar. The cost of work was Rs 2.60 crore. Then on March 9, 2023, NMC's slum department issued a work order to concretize the same road and build a storm water drain. This work was also awarded to M/s. Hitesh Construction of Potpuse. The cost of this work was Rs 2.35 crore. The bills of both works have readily been already cleared by both NMC and NIT.
MNS' East Nagpur constituency president Upesh Utkhede alleged that NMC had committed a scam by asking the same contractor to concrete the road, which was built five months ago. Moreover, storm water drains were built twice. "This is a clear example of corruption by municipal officers and contractors. The municipal commissioner should conduct a high level inquiry into this matter," he said.
When contacted, NMC's executive engineer (slum) Kamlesh Chavan, who had issued the work order, said that he could not say anything offhand and asked Lokmat Times to come to his office on Monday.
However, the contractor Prakash Potpuse offered an unconvincing explanation in this regard. He admitted that he had built a tar road first and then dug it up after five months. He then concretized it. Potpuse had no explanation for building storm water drains twice. Perhaps it was necessary and the public money being spent was not really going down the proverbial drain, but the stink still persists. Spending money on tarring a road and then digging it up to concretize it, doesn't really gel! The city fathers' new found love for concretized road works strikes a discordant note in this case.