A Rs 14-crore Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation contract for trash booms has triggered a fresh political controversy in Mumbai after opposition leaders questioned why the civic body selected a firm previously disqualified from two tenders in connection with the Mithi River desilting case.
The reaction followed an Indian Express report that Virgo Specialities Pvt Ltd had been awarded the latest contract despite earlier disqualification under a BMC tender clause barring contractors who were blacklisted or against whom a first information report had been filed. The company was later declared technically eligible for the new tender after submitting that the Mithi-related FIR had been registered against its then director, Jay Joshi, in his personal capacity and not against the company.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar alleged that the BJP had previously levelled corruption charges against the company while in Opposition but was now allowing it to receive a BMC contract. He questioned whether pressure had been exerted to enable the award and asked whether the Chief Minister would order an inquiry into the decision.
The allegations have not been established as findings of wrongdoing. Pawar’s remarks were political reactions to the tender decision and to the company’s earlier disqualification. The available report does not include a response from the BMC, the Maharashtra government or Virgo Specialities to the opposition’s allegations.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal also accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government of using Mumbai’s civic administration and public funds for political and financial gain. He alleged that the BJP was seeking to weaken the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s financial position by drawing on its deposits, which he put at around Rs 90,000 crore. Sapkal further claimed that about Rs 30,000 crore had already been spent. The report did not provide an independent assessment of these figures or establish that the spending was connected to the trash-boom contract.
The dispute centres on how the BMC interpreted its eligibility rules. The earlier tender condition referred to contractors who were blacklisted or against whom an FIR had been filed. Virgo Specialities’ position, as reported, was that the FIR related to its former director personally rather than to the company. On that basis, the firm was considered technically eligible for the latest tender.
The tender’s value places the decision within the wider scrutiny surrounding Mumbai’s civic procurement system, particularly contracts dealing with the city’s waterways and flood-management infrastructure. Trash booms are intended to help intercept floating waste, but the available material does not specify the contract’s deployment locations, duration, quantity of equipment or implementation schedule.
The immediate next step is a response from the BMC and the state government on the eligibility decision and the opposition’s demand for an inquiry. The civic body’s explanation of how it applied the tender clause will determine the administrative record behind the contract award.
