The clarification given by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to the media regarding the allegations on the tender process for Mithi River cleaning is in fact an admission that irregularities have taken place in the process, and that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines have been violated, said senior spokesperson of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Sachin Sawant on Friday. “Therefore, the tender should be scrapped and matter investigated. Those municipal officials responsible should be punished,” he added. “In the tender for Mithi River cleaning, the turnover requirement for a pump manufacturing company was initially fixed at Rs 50 crore. However, after the pre-bid meeting, this requirement was arbitrarily changed to Rs 210 crore. Since the pump manufacturer’s role is only to supply pumps to the contractor company, this change was deliberately made to prevent competition,” said Sawant. According to the CVC guidelines, after a tender has been published, the eligibility criteria must not be made stricter in order to avoid reducing competition. Based on this clear guideline, Sachin Sawant had written a letter to the Municipal Commissioner alleging irregularities in the tender process with documentary evidence. In response, municipal officials told the media (on condition of anonymity) that since the pump supply portion of the tender is worth Rs 700 crore, they could not specify technical standards for the pumps, and therefore they felt that the pump manufacturing company should have a turnover equivalent to 30% of the value–and that this change was made in good faith. Rejecting the corporation’s explanation outright, Sachin Sawant once again lashed out at the BMC. He said this was the third time the tender had been issued. “The first time was in March 2023, but it was later cancelled. It was reissued on February 14, 2025 and again cancelled. Finally, it was reissued in September 2025. In all three tenders, the turnover requirement for the pump manufacturing company was fixed at Rs 50 crore. So, was the BMC’s intent wrong for the past three years? Was the engineering department or the consultant asleep all this while? If the project value was equally large earlier, why did the 30% turnover requirement not come to their mind then?” Sawant asked. “Previously, in the cancelled tenders, only four pump manufacturers were qualified. After the recent changes in the tender conditions, how many and which manufacturers now qualify? Make this public,” said Sawant. He alleged that this misdeed was committed to award the contract to a BJP-friendly industrialist contractor, and that this clause was the key to the manipulation. Sawant demanded that the tender be immediately scrapped and an inquiry be conducted against the municipal officials involved.
