BMC Junior Engineer exam: Candidates seek TCS iON as centre to avoid malpractices

“We will face extra expenditure just to reach our allocated centres,” said Tushar Bhalchim, a mechanical engineering candidate from Pune who is assigned to a centre in Nashik. “Despite applying early, many of us will need to bear additional costs of around Rs 3,000 for travel and accommodation to reach far-flung locations like Bhandara and Nagpur. We demand that BMC should verify the centre choice before allocation.”

“The Water Conservation Department (WCD) and Town Planning Assistant (TPA) examinations held in 2024 at these remotely located centres were cancelled due to copying and malpractices, and an FIR was lodged against the centre. But the centre has been renamed and candidates have been allotted the same centres. We doubt that a similar copying case could be repeated due to the lack of high-end security facilities,” said Gaurav Daga, an Amravati-based aspirant.

“TCS iON’s digital zones offer significant advantages, including real-time anomaly detection and sophisticated image processing algorithms to identify malpractices. These features are notably absent in the currently allocated Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), MSCIT centres and others,” said Ramesh Bhutekar, chairman of the Municipal Engineers Association, Mumbai.

“We urge both BMC and The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), an autonomous body, which will conduct the exam on behalf of BMC to reconsider their centre allocation and to shift all examinations to the TCS iON digital zone to safeguard the integrity and transparency of the examination,” Bhutekar added.

“We are going to provide additional police force to deter any cheating incidents, but as the exam is approaching soon, we won’t be able to shift the centres. However, students’ demand for iON digital centres and allocation to preferred choices may be considered for the civil engineering exam scheduled in March after consultation,” said Mahendra Ubale, city engineer, BMC.