An activist today filed application in a local court seeking registration of first information report against 22 employees of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for manipulation of electronic tender filing system to award contracts to favoured contractors.
“I have filed a private complaint in the special anti- corruption court and it is likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday,” said the complainant Vivekanand Gupta.
Gupta alleges that MCGM officials manipulated e-tender software to award 49 contracts, worth Rs. 100 crore, illegally.
Gupta had submitted a complaint to additional municipal commissioner, who forwarded it to test audit and vigilance officers, and audit department conducted an inquiry.
“In the inquiry report, names of senior officials were reflected for illegally awarding 49 contracts to a set of favoured contractors. TAVO department has found that 23 engineers from nine wards are involved,” the complaint says.
As per the information obtained under Right To Information Act, nine engineers were suspended pending enquiry and 40 contractors were blacklisted.
“Only the sub-engineers have the password to access the site and are expected to access the same during their official hours only, however they kept open the bids after midnight or early morning…To favour some contractors,” he says.
The engineers blocked the website for rest of the time so that other contractors could not access it. The complaint alleges that experts from the software companies who designed the e-tender system must be involved too.
Despite his complaint with state anti-corruption bureau no FIR has been lodged, the complaint says.
