The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation standing committee has awarded road construction and repair contracts worth around Rs 620 crore on February 25. Interestingly, the biggest contract - worth Rs 181 crore - was awarded to a firm called RPS Infra Projects, which has been blacklisted by BMC’s buildings department for allegedly submitting fake bills in aproject around a year ago.
Defending the move to award the firm with a massive contract, a BMC officials that the firm was called RP Shah and Co when it was demoted, and it had nothing to do with road construction. Besides, the firm in its new avatar had bid for the project in association with another firm, Prakash Engineers.
Besides RPS Infra-Prakash Engineers’ joint venture, the other firms who have been awarded major contracts are Mahavir Roads (contract worth: Rs 164 crore), R K Madani & Co (Rs 141 crore) and Preeti Constructions (Rs 134 crore).
A BMC official said that no new firm bid for the projects, and the ‘helpless’ civic body was left with no options.