MUMBAI, Oct 19: The relationship between the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Binnie and Partners (B&P), its consultant on major World Bank-funded projects, is riding a rough terrain. Yet, the BMC seems to be in no hurry to sever ties with B&P. Senior corporation officials told Express Newsline on conditions of anonymity that the corporation simply could not afford to do so.The legal department is still perusing files related to the agreement between the two bodies and is yet to give its opinion on the subject. Five months ago, Mayor Nandu Satam declared that Mayor-in-Council would initiate action against B&P for `misguiding' corporation officials. The B&P is offering consultancy on some major World Bank projects, including the Rs 1,200 crore Bombay Sewerage Disposal Project (BSDP).Satam had also declared that the corporation would not hesitate to blacklist B&P if its advice proved expensive for the corporation. The BMC had asked its law department to look into the possibility of terminating theagreement.Now, senior officials say it would not be feasible for the BMC to appoint a new consultant. ``B&P has carried out an exhaustive study of the BSDP. Any new consultant who is appointed will take at least a year to understand the technical details of the project,'' said an official. The BMC could not afford this, he added.Also, the onus is on the BMC to prove that B&P was providing flawed guidance in technical matters. This would be difficult as the corporation does not have inhouse expertise on the sewerage project, which is the first of its kind in India. The officials also wondered what the alternative to the B&P would be if it were removed from the picture.The B&P first got into the BMC's bad books when it was asked to suggest alternatives to undo the damage caused to the lining of the Bandra effluent tunnel. The consultancy tabled three proposals with estimated cost ranging between Rs 69 crore and Rs 91 crore. However, a committee appointed by the BMC concluded that repairs on the tunnelcould be carried out at nearly half the cost.Again, in the construction of aerated lagoons at Ghatkopar, B&P suggested to the BMC that the lowest bidder should be awarded the contract for construction of the lagoons. However, the BMC rejected this advice on technical grounds and alleged that B&P had given them wrong advice. Though the second lowest bidder has now been awarded the contract, the state government has raised serious objections to the MiC's decision.Last month, a World Bank team had flayed the MiC's decision to initiate action against B&P and had also spoken to state government officials in this regard. Following this, the government had stayed the MiC's decision.
