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BJP MLA demands to scrap Rs 266 cr tender for KEM hospital housekeeping
Proposal to be taken up in standing committee
The standing committee is expected to take up the proposal for approval in Wednesday’s meeting.
Weeks after its name changing row, the King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital in Mumbai yet again got entangled in another political controversy as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now demanded the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to scrap a Rs 266 crore housekeeping tender for the hospital.
The tender will involve appointment of manpower for cleaning, and maintenance of the hospital premises along with other ancillary works. The proposal for clearing the tender is set to be tabled on the civic standing committee on Wednesday.
In a letter to Mumbai’s Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, BJP legislator from Mulund Mihir Kotecha has alleged that the bidding contractor has quoted 20 per cent below the estimated cost and it has quoted “zero” under the payment of gratuity, service charges, and safety equipment for laborers and supervisors.
“As per Section 53 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, gratuity payment is mandatory after one year. The contractor seems to be acting like the biggest social worker in the country, as they are not going to earn a single rupee in a Rs 266-crore contract covering 41 lakh sq. ft. of hospital space,” Kotecha’s letter stated.
The BJP MLA also stated that the contract is a front for a tainted contractor who was blacklisted by the civic authorities six years back.
Earlier this week, the civic health committee cleared a contentious proposal to change the hospital’s name to Kaushalyashreshta Eklavya Memorial hospital.
The proposal of changing the name came from the state cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha. Speaking to the Indian Express, Harish Bhandirge, chairperson of the committee, stated that while the full name of the hospital is being changed, the acronym (KEM) will continue to be the same.
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