Investigation Of Mumbai Municipality By CAG, State Government Suspects Malpractices In Works Worth 12,000 Crores
Mumbai, 31st October 2022: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) will investigate the 76 works of the Mumbai Corporation costing about Rs 12,000 crore, including the construction of corona centres, road construction, land purchase, and others. The CAG accepted the state government’s request for a special audit of the municipality on suspicion of malpractice. There are indications that the conflict between the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the ruling party in the state is intensifying due to the inquiry in the run-up to the municipal elections.
During the monsoon session of the state legislature, the BJP MLAs alleged that there was widespread corruption in the Corona Centers set up by the Mumbai Corporation in the city during the Corona period. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced an inquiry into these allegations in both houses. Road works, shelter schemes for the houses of sweepers, the benefit of the developer by reducing the width of the road in the redevelopment of Bhendi Bazar, the allegation that some officers and employees of the Mumbai Corporation started their own companies and diverted the works of the Corporation, all these will be investigated in a time bound manner. Fadnavis also announced that some cases are very serious and that they will be audited by the Auditor General and Comptroller General (CAG).
The state government has decided to conduct an audit through ‘CAG’ of works costing about 12 thousand crores such as corruption in setting up corona centres in the municipal corporation, purchase of anemometers in the name of Corona, giving contracts to non-existent companies, land purchase case in Dahisar, road construction. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde approved the proposal in this regard. According to the request made by the state government, ‘CAG’ has shown its readiness to investigate the relevant case, and soon a team of ‘CAG’ will enter the municipality, informed the sources.
According to the proposal sent by the state government to the ‘CAG’, a special audit will be conducted in the municipality from 28th November 2019 to 28th February 2022 for the works costing Rs 12,238 crore in various 10 departments. 3,538 was mainly spent on various matters during the Corona period. 73 crores, purchase of a plot of Ajmera in Dahisar for 339.14 crores by the municipality, 1496 crores spent on construction of four bridges, 904.84 crores spent on three hospitals during Corona, 2286.24 crores spent on repair of 56 roads in the city, 1084 crores on six sewage projects, 61 crores, expenditure on solid waste management projects of Rs 1,020.48 crore, expenditure on three sewage treatment plants of Rs 1,187.36 crore is understood to have been requested to audit the CAG.
