Rajkot demolitions: Rs 27 lakh food bill rejected; tenders issued since 2023 ‘under review’

Shortly after the standing committee’s meeting, Mayor Nehal C Shukla said, “The standing committee has rejected the food bill as it was not in line with the regulations of the state finance department since no tender had been issued for it. This is the only bill that was put forth before RMC for consideration.”

On the reason why the food procurement had been done without a tender, even when eviction notices were issued two months prior, Shukla said: “That’s because there was an urgency. While notices had been issued earlier, the scale of the demolitions and their timing were decided only shortly before they were carried out.”

However, a senior corporation official, on the condition of anonymity, said, “A food tender was floated earlier, but the lowest bidder had proposed to charge Rs 240 per plate, which was why it was rejected. We then approached a voluntary organisation, which supplied food at Rs 110 per plate and buttermilk for Rs 20 per bottle.”

The Wednesday meeting was presided over by Paresh Pipaliya, the committee chairman. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “The food bill of Rs 27.20 lakh presented for approval was rejected. It was even put forth in the first meeting, but more information was sought on the expenditure. We rejected the bill today because the tender process had not been carried out.”

When asked if the vendor would now have to bear the loss, Pipaliya said: “Officers will deal with that issue.”

However, administrative officials said the food bill could be put up for approval again on the basis of the SIT’s findings.

On why the food bill was placed before the newly elected standing committee when the expenditure was made in February, well before the model code of conduct for the recent civic polls were implemented on April 1, Pipaliya said, “…The reason we were given was that RMC was under the control of the administrator since the term of the political wing had ended, and that there were technical issues related to bureaucratic processes.”

Demolitions and political fallout

The demolitions in Jangleshwar (Ward-16) saw RMC clearing 1,489 “illegally constructed” properties on the Aji riverbed and an adjoining Town Planning road. By February 25, RMC said, it had cleared 33,750 square metres of land on the TP Road and 55,000 square metres of land on the Aji riverbed area. The land is valued around Rs 350 crore.

This fresh scrutiny is a major development in the civic body, which has been governed by the BJP since December 2005. The party won Rajkot, the largest city in Saurashtra, for the fifth consecutive time this April.

The demolitions, however, impacted the BJP in the elections. While the party retained its massive majority, it lost all four seats of Ward-16 to the Congress. Currently, the BJP has 65 seats, including 16 ward panels, while the Congress has seven seats in two wards of Rajot.

Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a judicial inquiry into the bills for the demolitions. They made a representation before the SIT chairman, CK Nandani, on Tuesday, offering up a symbolic ‘mindani’ (kitten plushie) to the officer with the message that “a cat had been asked to watch over the milk”.

Rajkot Congress chief Rajdeepsinh Jadeja said, “The municipal commissioner is responsible for all the bills that are signed and sent to the standing committee. Giving the inquiry to an SIT headed by his deputy commissioner makes no sense. It must be given to either an SIT of senior IAS officers or members of the judiciary. The commissioner must, in the interest of transparency, go on leave during this period.”

Tenders under review

Regarding the tenders put “on hold” and “under review”, Pipaliya said, “These rate contracts were issued in 2023 and were for a period of two years. But since no call had been taken regarding them, they continued to be in effect after that period as well, which is why they were valid even as of February 2026. We will now scrutinise all of them.”

Other bills under the scanner include those for videography, mandap (awning), and water bottles supplied to the workers carrying out the demolition.

However, the very first issue raised in this entire fracas was that of a snacks bill, which included expenses on ‘kaju katli’, ‘khajur rolls’, samosa, wafers, tea and coffee, amounting to Rs 33,000.

Pipaliya declined to comment on the subject as he said it took place during “the tenure of the previous political establishment of RMC.”

However, RMC officials claimed that the snacks and sweets were ordered on February 25 for a press conference on the demolitions. The press meet was attended by about 150 journalists, who were the recipients of ‘kaju katli’ and ‘khajur rolls’, they claimed.

When asked about the other bills, Mayor Shukla said, “All other bills have already been paid under the terms of respective rate contracts. However, we have also taken steps regarding them. All tenders issued by RMC will now be under review…”

When asked if the rates at which the tenders had been accepted were also under scrutiny, and whether excess public funds had been paid under the process, he said: “How can we say that excess money has been paid under the tender? Everyone was invited to participate, and the lowest bid (L1) was chosen for all tenders. The tenders currently operational in the RMC were issued in 2023 and were for two years. Since new tenders were not issued, the previous ones were used for procurement during the demolitions in 2026. Now, the standing committee will review them. The SIT will investigate whether there were irregularities in the entire process.”

Five-member SIT

The five-member SIT established on June 30 to probe all bills related to the Jangleshwar demolitions is chaired by deputy municipal commissioner CK Nandani, and has assistant municipal commissioner Harshad Patel, accounts officer Amit Savjiyani, RB Zala and BL Kathrotiya as members.

Rajkot municipal commissioner Tushar Sumera told this newspaper: “Since there are allegations, the committee will scrutinise each and every bill in question. To ensure transparency, we have made sure that Pathik Patel (the additional collector and deputy commissioner who headed the Jangleshwar demolitions) is kept out of the committee.”

When asked if RMC would pay the food vendor, Sumera said that any call could only be taken after the committee presented its report.

Also, there is no fixed timeline for the SIT to present its report. The Indian Express attempted to speak to its chair CK Nandani, but he remained unavailable for comment.