BMC gifts fire force land to builder

Without setting up the promised unit, civic body gives entire FSI to developer

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has doled out a plot reserved for the fire brigade to a private developer for commercial purposes.

While it is understood that the plot was allotted to the developer at the instance of the Shiv Sena MLA from Dahisar, the local MP from the Congress has asked the civic body to revoke the decision.

Documents with BMC’s development planning and building proposals departments show a plot on the Dahisar-Link Road near the east-west flyover — approximately 4.5 acres — as being reserved for fire brigade.

The BMC has allotted more than half the plot to a private developer for constructing two-high rises (19 storeys each, with the first two floors for stilt parking). In lieu of this, the developer promised to build the fire brigade facility free of cost.

But sources say there’s more to the deal that what meets the eye. While the builder has not constructed the promised fire brigade, the BMC has allowed the developer to ‘develop the remaining 50 per cent site to the full permissible FSI’.

This means the developer will consume all the available FSI — even from BMC’s share.

Sensing a major scam, the New Link Road Resident Forum (NLRRF) from Dahisar have taken up the case.

Residents claim the BMC commissioner himself has revoked the plan in May this year due to political pressure. The revocation order has been put on hold. “When the BMC themselves can construct a fire brigade and use the remaining land for public amenities or for providing housing to the firemen, why should it gift the land to a private developer?

“Is the civic body, with a budget of Rs29,000 crore, so cash-strapped that it could not even spend Rs50 crore to build a fire station on its own?” said Harish Pandey, a forum member. The forum is planning litigation against the BMC.

Municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte had, on May 28, given orders to revoke the commercial exploitation in a meeting with Sanjay Nirupam MP, along with local corporators and residents.

However, it is learnt that the building proposals department has given the Intimation of Disapproval (IOD) ‘in-principle’ approval for a proposed project to start construction the same day.

Senior BMC officials said it was after Nirupam’s meeting with Kunte that the BMC revoked the decision to use the land for commercial exploitation. However, local MLA Vinod Ghosalkar met Kunte afterwards and told him that commercial exploitation was in the interest of the locals as well as the BMC. “The decision taken to revoke the proposal should be implemented without any delay,” Nirupam said.
Courtesy:
Geeta Desai @desaigeeta
Published Date:  Dec 03, 2013
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=56073&boxid=31900&ed_date=2013-12-03&ed_code=820009&ed_page=3

BMC blind to high-profile illegality

Civic body fails to do a campa cola on sukhada-shubhada bldgs where netas stay
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seems keen to initiate action against seven Campa Cola Compound buildings, but it seems to be dragging its feet over high-profile twin societies Shubhada and Shukhada in Worli (in pic), where also unauthorised alterations have been carried out.
Infighting in the BMC is responsible for the delay.

According to a senior civic official, the matter has been referred to the civic body’s legal department, following a dispute between the building proposal department and the designated officer from the G-south ward office.

The dispute started after the designated officer questioned the department if he has the authority to take action, based on the notices the department has issued to the societies over the violations.

In April this year, the civic body had issued notices to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Gopinath Munde, Punjab governor Shivraj Patil Chakurkar, Maharashtra state Congress president Manikrao Thakre and ministers Patangrao Kadam and Anil Deshmukh, among others under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, following complaints from RTI activist Amit Maru.

These politicians have allegedly converted shops allotted to them into offices and even gymnasiums and carried out unauthorised alterations.

Civic officials said that since the societies did not remove the unauthorised alterations, the matter was forwarded to the designated officer of the G-south ward in September to initiate action.

As per a gazette notification issued on April 15, 2013, designated officers across the city have been empowered to initiate action against unauthorised constructions in their respective wards. The notification has made a ward’s assistant engineer (building and factory) as the designated officer.

“Because the notices have been issued by the building proposal department, action will be delayed. The designated officer will have to start the process from the beginning, such as seeking the required plans, inspecting sites to verify the violations and initiate action,” said a civic official.

“But if the designated officer overlooks any irregularity, even by mistake, he will be held responsible. We believe the assistant engineer of the building proposal department, who issued the notices to the societies, can be made the stand-in designated officer. He knows the issue well, so he will be in a better position to take action,” added the official.
Courtesy
Vishwas Waghmode @vishwas_01
Published Date:  Nov 09, 2013
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=54890&boxid=36102&ed_date=2013-11-09&ed_code=820009&ed_page=4

Dumping Ground Scam: Civic body paid contractor 1,300% more

BMC evidently ignored own consultant’s advice several times; contractor yet to start processing waste 4 yrs after bagging contract
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) willingly squandered away precious public money, nearly 1,300% more as tipping fee than what its own consultant advised it to pay to a contractor for the controversial Deonar dumping ground.

Hindustan Times has documents to show how Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) had, in December 2005, proposed that the contractor be paid Rs40 per metric ton for processing the city’s waste.

The BMC, instead, decided to pay the contractor Rs550 per metric ton, a whopping 1,275% more than the original cost. While the civic body has been blamed for approving such an inflated cost, insiders point to the discrepancies in the various escalations proposed by IL&FS.

After its 2005 report, the consultant submitted another report in January 2006, raising the tipping fee to Rs150 per metric ton for processing waste at Deonar. One year later, the firm raised the tipping fee by nearly three times to Rs445 per metric ton.

Going a step ahead, the civic body decided to grant a total of Rs 550 per metric ton as tipping fee to the contractor, UPL, for composting waste. This was in addition to the amount being paid to the contractor for the partial closure and landfill creation at the dumping ground.

As a result of this escalation, the cost of the project too went up. While IL&FS’ 2005 report pegged the total cost of the Deonar project at Rs160 crore, the final cost approved by the BMC in July 2009 was a staggering Rs4,408 crore, 2,655% higher than the original cost.

“There was rampant cost escalation even before the project could take off. The BMC officials then should have read it as a sign of things to come and changed the consultant,” said a senior civic official in the current solid waste management set-up.

This was not all. While the BMC agreed to pay Rs3,000 crore of the total cost as just tipping fees, the National Building Construction Company, a central government body, had proposed to do this for no cost.

However, sources from UPL said: “We firmly maintain that the entire bidding process, including the evaluation had been absolutely transparent and fair, and we reject any allegation to the contrary.”

Same story at Kanjurmarg, Mulund dumps
MUMBAI: While the total spending on Deonar dumping ground has gone up by almost 3,000% of the original cost, the cost of the other two dumping grounds too has undergone a similar escalation, making them a big burden on the civic exchequer.

At Mulund, the city’s smallest dumping ground which can handle only 500 metric tons of waste every day, the consultant IL&FS had recommended in January 2006 that only Rs150 be paid to contractors as fee tipping per metric ton of garbage.

BMC OFFICIAL However, the consultant raised this figure to Rs290 per metric ton in February 2007. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) went a step ahead and paid Rs525 as tipping fee per metric ton of garbage to the contractor.

It was a similar story at Kanjurmarg dumping ground, the city’s newest dump site. After first proposing a tipping fee of Rs150 per metric ton here, the consultant revised it to Rs276 per metric ton. The BMC approved the final tipping fee at Rs525 per metric ton, a hike of 250% from the original fee.

An insider said the civic body, while tabling the Deonar proposal before the standing committee, compared its rates to that at Kanjurmarg dumping ground.

“The administration did not, however, disclose all information about how much garbage both the dumps will be using. Thus, it felt as if the rate quoted by the Deonar bidder was not so high. But it was actually a clever manipulation,” he said.

Despite the big money spent by the BMC, there is hardly any progress on the two dumping grounds. In fact, the civic body has been considering scrapping the contract allotted to a UPL-led consortium.

“There has been little progress on the ground four years after the contract was given to them. While we have been taking regular action against them, including penalising them, we are contemplating stricter action,” said an official of the BMC’s solid waste management department.
Courtesy:
9 Apr 2013, Hindustan Times (Mumbai)
Kunal Purohit kunal.purohit@hindustantimes.com
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

OCTROI SCAM : In a first, police slap MCOCA on octroi agents

Stringent law applied after agents are found to be habitual offenders of octroi evasion and are increasingly leaning towards underworld

In a bid to clamp down on the growing organised activities of octroi agents in evading octroi, as well as to check their increasing tilt towards crime, for the first time the police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (prevention) Act against octroi agents.

In July last year, some octroi agents had attempted to kill another agent at Kopri, in neighbouring Thane, after he allegedly tried to eat into their clientele.

The supari to kill octroi agent Rajesh Chandrabhan Ghadge was given by a group of agents to the Chota Rajan gang. On July 13, Ghadge was in his office when the assailants attacked him with a chopper and also fired at him. Ghadge escaped, but the attempt on his life ex posed the murky dealings of octroi agents. In subsequent days, 14 people, including some Chota Rajan gang members and octroi agents, were arrested. And last week the Thane Police invoked MCOCA when they found that some of the arrested agents were habitual offenders in octroi evasion and had been booked by the Mumbai police in the past too.

“We have invoked MCOCA in the case related to the attempt to kill Ghadge. The matter is under investigation,” Additional CP (Crime), Thane Police, Milind Bharambe told Mumbai Mirror.

Three of the agents, Mandir Baliram Bhosle, a resident of Thane’s Wagle estate, Rohit Yashwant Gaekwad, a resident of Kopri, and Mayank Sundarani were found to be involved in several cases of octroi evasion. The Thane police allege that Bhosle and Gaekwad decided to eliminate Ghadge as he was trying to eat into their business by offering their established clients a better deal. They had warned Ghadge, but when he continued, they allegedly planned his murder, the police have alleged.

“Octroi evasion is a multi-million rupee business and the attractive returns compel the players to go to any extent to serve their interests. Earlier, it was limited to assaults on government servants, but the Ghadge episode shows that the players are also hand in glove with the underworld,” said a senior Crime Branch officer from the Thane police said.

The Mumbai police’s EOW had also arrested Bhosle, Gaekwad and Sundarani in May last year in an octroi evasion case based on a complaint by mobile phone manufacturer Micromax. Three other companies — BITS, CAH Infosystems and Pentagon Systems — also filed complaints of cheating by octroi agents with EOW, in which Bhosle, Gaekwad and Sundrani had been booked.

HOW OCTROI AGENTS OPERATE
When goods enter Mumbai, manufacturers have to pay a prescribed octroi. The goods are evaluated at the entry points, where octroi is collected and receipts are issued.

In the cases involving the three agents, the manufacturing companies had disbursed the octroi amount, but these agents allegedly generated fake octroi receipts and pocketed the money.

Other agents also indulge in undervaluing goods, so that manufacturers end up paying less octroi.

To get a rough idea of the quantum of octroi evasion, one must study the figures: BMC has a total of 38 octroi nakas at the entry points of various transport modes. For vehicles, BMC have nakas at Dahisar, LBS Road, Eastern Express Highway, Mumbai-Panvel Highway and Airoli. Other nakas are located at the international airport, at each railway terminus, and also at Indira Dock (for waterway transport).

Each octroi post has close to 200 agents operating, and on an average 1,000 trucks enter Mumbai from each of the five octroi posts by road every day. MCGM’s octroi revenue is close to Rs 5,000 crore annually.

When the Anti Corruption Bureau conducted a crackdown against agents in November 2010, octroi revenue shot up by close to Rs 1.5croreperday,orapproximatelyRs500crore per year.
Courtesy:
Abhijit.Sathe @timesgroup.com
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=MMIR/2013/01/06&PageLabel=5&EntityId=Ar00500&ViewMode=HTML

BMC Redevelopment Scam : BMC yet to recover ` 628 crore from builders

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is yet to recover Rs628.03 crore as premium from builders who took up redevelopment of civic properties.

By the end of 2012, the civic body had sanctioned 104 proposals for redevelopment of civic properties. From this, the BMC is expected to earn a revenue of Rs1,036.15 crore. However, so far, the civic body has received only Rs408.11 crore.

The premium payment is done in several stages. Twenty per cent of the amount is to be paid while getting the letter of intent sanctioned from the BMC, and 60 per cent while getting the commencement certificate. The remaining amount is to be paid before getting the occupation certificate.

The premium contributes to a major part of the civic body’s revenue. “Recovery of premium is a constant and ongoing process. We would recover the remaining amount from developers in due course of time,” said a civic official from the BMC’s estates department on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Meanwhile, the civic body is in the process of framing policies that would add to its revenue. A month ago, the BMC formulated a policy under which developers will have to pay an additional 25 per cent of the land value, as stated in the ready reckoner, to carry out slum redevelopment on civic land.
Courtesy:
    5 Jan 2013
    Hindustan Times (Mumbai)
    HT Correspondent
    htmetro@hindustantimes.com
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

मनपा नगरसेवकों का कार घोटाला - पैसे जनता के, सैर करें नगरसेवक

मुंबई।। बीएमसी के नियमानुसार यदि कोई नगरसेवक मुंबई के बाहर व्यक्तिगत दौरे पर आधिकारिक गाडि़यां ले जाता है तो , उसे पैसे चुकाने पड़ते हैं। हालांकि , हमारे जनप्रतिनिधि मेयर सुनील प्रभु , सभागृह नेता यशोधर फणसे और पूर्व स्थायी समिति अध्यक्ष रविंद्र वायकर समेत अन्य पांच पूर्व नगरसेवकों ने पैसे अब तक नहीं भरे हैं। बीएमसी ने तीन साल पहले 2008-09 में इन नगरसेवकों को व्यक्तिगत दौरे पर गाड़ी ले जाने बाद 8.62 लाख रुपये का बिल भेजा था।

15 नगरसेवकों के पैसे बकाया
बीएमसी अपने विभिन्न समिति अध्यक्ष और सदस्य नगरसेवकों को गाड़ी मुहैया कराती है। इन गाडि़यों का उपयोग मंुबई से बाहर अपने व्यक्तिगत काम के लिए करने पर प्रशासन इसके पैसे वसूलती है। तीन साल पहले 15 नगरसेवकों के दौरे के पैसे बकाया थे , लेकिन इनमें से आठ नगरसेवक ने अब तक पैसे नहीं चुकाए। इस सूची में सबसे बड़े नाम है शिवसेना नगरसेवक व मेयर सुनील प्रभु , पूर्व स्थायी समिति अध्यक्ष रविंद्र वायकर और सभागृह नेता यशोधर फणसे। सूत्रों से मिली जानकारी और एनबीटी के पास मौजूद बकाएदारों की सूची के मुताबिक , मेयर को 27,404 रुपये , वायकर को 11,912 रुपये और सभागृह नेता को 2,063 रुपये का बिल बीएमसी ने भेजा था।

बकाया लाखों में
वहीं , सबसे अधिक पैसे शिवसेना के पूर्व नगरसेवक प्रकाश चालके पर 4,09,916 रुपये और बीजेपी के पूर्व नगरसेवक विश्वनाथ म्हस्के पर 3,21,121 रुपये बकाया हैं। इस बारे में जब पूर्व स्थायी समिति अध्यक्ष व वर्तमान विधायक रविंद्र वायकर से पूछा गया तो उनका कहना था मेरा सारा दौरा आधिकारिक था। स्थायी समिति अध्यक्ष होने के नाते यह पैसे प्रशासन को भरने थे। सभागृह नेता फणसे ने कहा कि मैं कभी मुंबई से बाहर गया ही नहीं। यदि बीएमसी ने ऐसा कोई बिल भेजा है , तो उन्हें पड़ताल करनी चाहिए। विश्वनाथ म्हस्के का कहना था कि मेरा कोई पैसा बकाया नहीं है। मैं जब भी मंुबई के बाहर गया , ईंधन के पैसे दिए हैं। वहीं , मेयर सुनील प्रभु से संपर्क करने की कोशिश की लेकिन उनसे बातचीत नहीं हो पाई।
साभार
लक्ष्मण सिंह॥ नवभारत टाइम्स | Dec 24, 2012, 02.26AM IST
http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/Public-money-walk-Nagrsevk/articleshow/17735572.cms

Road Scam Of BMC: CRATER MUMBAI

Civic body rides roughshod over rules with cost escalations in road works
‘BMC Often Ignored Technical Guidelines, Didn’t Recover Security Deposits From Contractors’
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has come under stinging criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General for undertaking slipshod development and repairs of Mumbai’s roads. The auditor’s latest report highlights several infractions, including variations in tender costs, disregard of technical guidelines, nonrecovery of security deposits from contractors, direct losses of over Rs 25 crore besides indirect losses of many crores.

Tabled in the winter session of the assembly, the report on local bodies covers audit of records from 2007-08 to 2010-11. In the report, the CAG rips apart the BMC and its roads department, which has faced intense public scrutiny for permitting poor road repair and maintenance works. Every year, a cartel of contractors grab tenders, provide poor work, quote low costs and thereby ensure that big firms stay away from the process.

The CAG report underscores the rot in the system. Hinting at losses to the municipal exchequer, it notes that the roads department made ‘idle’ investment in pothole filling machines and did not put in place a Road Management and Maintenance System as per the recommendation of the Standard Technical Advisory Committee (STAC). It also says the department did not recover additional security deposit of Rs 21 crore from a civil works contractor and lost out on Rs 1.38 crore in interest on the amount. In another case, the report adds, a loss of Rs 1.5 crore was incurred on account of non-recovery of “rebate” from a contractor.

The severest stricture in the report is on award of contracts without invitation of tenders, which later enables major variations in costs. Between December 2009 and October 2011, the CAG reveals, 147 works of concreting (CC) and asphalting were awarded to the same contractors without calling tenders. Of these, 59 works recorded cost variations of Rs 750 crore. The cost of CC works surpassed the original estimate by 62% and of asphalting works by 57%.

The BMC justified the variations by passing the buck to elected representatives. MPs and MLAs, the BMC argued, insisted on completing work on priority basis. This resulted in hasty preparation of estimates; besides, the election code of conduct meant no tenders were floated for a while.

Dismissing the BMC’s explanation, the CAG says: “The department should have planned for inclusion of all work after reviewing the demand of corporators, MLAs and MPs. Before inviting tenders, it should have ensured there was no variation. This move was in violation of the MMC Act and deprived BMC benefits of competitive rates.”

According to the CAG, many of the STAC’s 90 recommendations are not followed by the BMC, including on quality control provisions in tender specifications and a system to maintain records. Also, in violation of the MMC Act, many “works of sizeable value were awarded by variations as additional works without inviting tenders”.

The objective of the report was to study if repairs were properly planned, if the tendering process was up to the mark, if work was undertaken ‘effectively and economically’ and if syst e m s o f monitoring and evaluation were put in place.

MARKED BY A SHODDY JOB
The latest CAG report indicts the BMC on several counts:
In June 2008, an order was placed with Speco Infrastructure for three pothole-repairing machines costing 2.34 crore. The machines could not be used on minor roads less than 9-meter wide. Out of the 7.14 lakh sq m of filling executed during the monsoons of 2010 and 2011, only 141.75 sq m was done with the machines

For the development of the Road Management and Maintenance System, the BMC released 1.76 crore as payment to consultants. But the consultants’ report was not up to the mark and incomplete. No action, however, could be taken against them, resulting in blockage of funds

In a civic works tender, additional security deposit of 21 crore was not recovered. Due to this, the BMC lost out on interest of 1.4 crore

The work of concreting side strips was awarded to M/s Rupesh and M/s Supreme at a tender cost of 12.68 crore, with a rebate of 12.8%. The tender was however invited before the finalization of the design of the widening of the Mulund-Goregaon Link Road, depriving the corporation rebate of 1.4 crore

Cost variations were allowed in 30 of the 46 concreting works and 29 of the 42 asphalting works. Because of this, additional contract costs of 470 crore and 234 crore were incurred

OTHER STRICTURES
The municipal estate department incurred a loss of about 46 crore for failing to recover capitalised value and interests on a redevelopment scheme. In 1996, the standing committee approved redevelopment of civic BIT cottage at Matunga. M/s Vaishnavi Builders was required to pay BMC levy computed on surplus area of 46,533 sq ft. In all, 46 crore was to be recovered. While the developer paid some of the amount over the years, interest at 15% was not levied. And yet, a commencement certificate was issued

In 2007, the BMC standing committee cleared a scheme to supply flavoured milk to schoolchildren. While the scheme was suspended in December, the contractor was informed later. As a result, 30 lakh packs were supplied and later expired. Since schools were closed for holidays, the packs were given away or dumped. This resulted in wasteful expenditure of 2.8 crore

Many major projects awarded in excess of approved costs or with variations. Middle Vaitarna Water Supply Project was awarded at an increased cost of 678 crore or nearly 51% variation from the original 1,329 crore. The Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project (stage two) recorded a variation of 73 crore — 20%
over the original 365 crore.
Courtesy:
Sharad Vyas | TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/12/22&PageLabel=8&EntityId=Ar00800&ViewMode=HTML