Irregularities in Mumbai Road Concretisation: Speaker Calls Meeting with Dy CM Shinde
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Synopsis
On March 21, members of the Maharashtra Assembly challenged Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde regarding the irregularities in Mumbai roads' concretisation. Speaker Rahul Narvekar called for a meeting to address these allegations and the potential need for an EOW probe.
Key Takeaways
- Deputy CM Eknath Shinde
- Speaker Narvekar called a meeting to discuss allegations.
- Concerns were raised regarding project irregularities and quality.
- Legislators highlighted the need for better road materials.
- Potential EOW investigation is under consideration.
Mumbai, March 21 (NationPress) Members from both the ruling BJP and opposition factions in the Maharashtra Assembly confronted Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde regarding issues surrounding the concretisation of roads in Mumbai.
They criticized the state government over alleged irregularities in the road concretisation projects.
Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narvekar has initiated a meeting with Mumbai legislators to discuss the allegations involving irregularities in the tenders for road concretisation issued by the previous government, which was also led by Eknath Shinde.
Narvekar instructed the state government to convene in his chamber on Monday afternoon and requested the presence of Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, inviting all party MLAs. He urged the state government to prepare a response regarding the possibility of a probe by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) into these tenders.
BJP legislator Atul Bhatkhalkar raised concerns about incomplete and substandard work in road concretisation, highlighting that only fines were imposed, and officials received mere notices.
Another BJP legislator, Ameet Satam, asserted that roads narrower than 15 meters should utilize mastic asphalt.
Satam pointed out that despite an expenditure of Rs 21,000 crore on Mumbai roads from 1997 to 2022, it has proven to be a wasteful investment.
“To address this, the former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the current Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis promoted the concept of cement concrete roads, which is commendable. However, continuous road digging has forced many senior citizens to remain indoors, unable to take walks. The entire city has been excavated, and the work on cement concrete roads commenced in October 2023 is still ongoing after a year and a half,” stated Satam, mentioning that wider roads could be made of cement concrete, while narrower ones are more suited for mastic asphalt.
Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar intervened, stating that a tender was issued in his constituency two years ago, but the contractor failed to execute the work, leading to a re-tender six months prior, with work still not commenced.
Congress legislator Amit Deshmukh inquired about the names of contractors awarded works totaling Rs 6,632 crore, while Aaditya Thackeray from Shiv Sena (UBT) questioned if contractors were given an advance mobility charge.
Minister Uday Samant replied that the issues highlighted by legislators would be investigated, with 191 roads currently under construction in the first phase.
In response to Thackeray, Samant confirmed that advance mobility charges were provided in some instances. “These projects involve Rs 6,632 crore for the concretisation of 698 roads. Some work is ongoing, and we are conducting third-party audits to ensure quality,” Samant added.
In response to Congress legislator Amin Patel regarding the formation of a committee of MLAs, the minister stated he would discuss this with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.
Speaker Rahul Narvekar concluded, “A meeting will be held with the Urban Development Minister in my office on Monday at 3 p.m. An earlier inquiry through the EOW was conducted for similar issues. Given the serious information currently available, should the EOW initiate another investigation? They must consider this and come prepared for the meeting.”
