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News18
5 days ago
- Business
- News18
Congress Alleges Multi-Crore BMC Water Project Scam, Demands High-Level Probe
Last Updated: While Congress calls it a 'broker-driven scam' that benefits select contractors at the cost of Mumbai's taxpayers, the BMC has not yet responded to the allegations. The Mumbai Congress has levelled explosive allegations of large-scale corruption in the tender process for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) ambitious water purification projects, demanding an immediate high-level probe into what it calls a 'broker-driven scam" that benefits select contractors at the cost of Mumbai's taxpayers. The BMC has not yet responded to the allegations. Addressing a press conference at the Mumbai Congress office on Wednesday, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant, along with city unit chief spokesperson Sureshchandra Rajhans, former corporator Mohsin Haider and spokesperson Nizamuddin Rayeen, claimed that influential brokers and vested interests are manipulating multi-crore tenders under the Mahayuti government's watch. At the centre of the controversy are the massive Bhandup Complex (2000 MLD capacity) and Panjapur (910 MLD) water purification projects. Sawant alleged that the tender process for these projects has been repeatedly altered to favour a specific contractor, blocking global competition and violating Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Competition Commission guidelines. Citing detailed timelines, Sawant said that the Rs 4,376 crore Bhandup project tender was first floated on October 10, 2023, with a pre-bid meeting on October 26. The tender was then extended six times before an addendum introduced a critical change — restricting eligible experience to companies with prior projects in India only. 'This was done to keep out global players and ensure only a pre-decided firm could qualify," Sawant alleged. According to Sawant, this manipulation inflated the final approved bid by nearly 30 per cent over the original estimate, causing huge losses to the municipal exchequer. Similarly, the Panjapur project tender, floated on September 24, 2024, was postponed eight times and eventually cancelled in March 2025 citing 'no response." A fresh tender was issued in April with stricter eligibility clauses again demanding only India-based experience. Sawant pointed out that this pattern raises grave doubts of a rigged process, benefiting the same contractor and technology supplier 'Veolia" repeatedly. Calling BMC offices and the Mantralaya 'dens of brokers," the Congress leaders alleged a deep nexus between contractors, officials, technology suppliers and middlemen, operating with impunity under political protection. Sawant confirmed that on July 16, the party had formally written to relevant authorities demanding a detailed investigation. He warned that unless probed immediately, Mumbai's taxpayers would continue to suffer while a corrupt contractor-broker-official nexus thrives unchecked under the Mahayuti regime. view comments First Published: July 25, 2025, 10:59 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India Gazette
03-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Maharashtra: 76-year-old farmer ploughs farm manually for 10 years due to financial hardship
Latur (Maharashtra) [India], July 3, 2025 (ANI): Facing unbelievable financial hardship and unable to afford oxen for his fields, a 76-year-old farmer in Maharashtra's Hadolti village in the Latur district has been ploughing his fields manually for the last 10 years without any help from the state government. Ambadas Pawar has been a farmer for over 50 years and ploughing manually for the last 10 along with his wife, as he was forced to sell his oxen due to not being able to afford the animal's maintenance. He claimed that until now no one has come to help him and requested that his loan be waived off. Latur is also a drought prone area of the state. 'I have been farming for the last 50 years, but since it has not been possible for me to bear the expenses of oxen, I sold the oxen 10 years ago and have been the field with my own hands on my shoulders and working with my wife. No one has interfered for the last 10 years, but someone saw me ploughing the field and made a video and made it viral. After the video went viral, today the Latur district officer and the state minister contacted me,' the farmer said. Earlier, Latur district agriculture Superintendent Officer Shivsamb Ladke met with Pawar, assuring him of all the help possible, and also offering to give him farming literature provided under government schemes. The farmer's hardship was highlighted when a video of him manually ploughing his fields was shown in a news report, Later, the Mumbai Congress posted about the farmer in a post on X. 'When he couldn't find oxen to plow the field, he turned himself into an ox... A heart-wrenching scene has emerged from Hadolti village in Latur district,' the party's post read. The farmer has demanded that the government help waive off his outstanding loans of Rs 40,000, saying that while he does have a son who works in the city, he does not get any help for him. 'I have not received any help from the government so far. I demand from the government that my loan of 40 thousand rupees of the society should be waived off. I have a son and a daughter. The son works in a private company in Pune city, from which he earns his livelihood but we do not get any benefit from it,' he added. The farmers wife, Muktabai Ambadas Pawar decried the meagre sums of money which they get from farming, claiming that the government does not do enough to help sustain the livelihoods of smaller farmers. 'We are 6 people in the whole house. The son works in a private company in another city. He does not get anything from us. We have 4.5 acres of land. We do not have bulls, husband and I plough the field by hand. If the government had given us a fair price for our crop, we would not have to plough by hand. If you see, the price of soybean fertilizer is 3 thousand per sack and if we have to sell it in the market, we get 4 thousand rupees. Then how to meet our expenses is the question before us,' she told ANI. She also reiterated the demand to waive off her husband's loan, along with other farmers. Earlier on Wednesday, Congress MLA Nana Patole criticised the government for the increasing suicides of farmers in the state, accusing the government of not being able to control inflation. Patole said, 'The government has accepted that the farmers are committing suicide in cost of everything has increased, whether it's diesel, petrol, seeds, fertilisers or insecticides. The income of farmers is low, and that's why they are committing suicide.' (ANI)
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Opposition in Maharashtra demands to make film ‘Phule' tax-free and screen in schools
Opposition in Maharashtra has urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to exempt the film Phulefrom tax and make it available in schools. They argued that making the film tax-free would allow more people to know the history of India's social reforms and movements. While NCP-SP leader Jayant Patil asked to make it tax-free, aiming to reach more people with the history of social reforms, Mumbai Congress president and MP Varsha Gaikwad wants school students to understand the struggle of such social reformers that enabled girls to pursue education in India. Actor and filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan directed the film Phule, a biopic on the lives of Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, released on April 25. The film has already attracted criticism from the Brahmin community for allegedly showing the community in a bad light. The director has defended that the film is not against the Brahmins, and the controversy around it was 'unnecessary'. Mr. Patil on Friday asked Mr. Fadnavis to tax-free the film Phule that depicts the struggles of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule for equality and see the living history of the movement built for the upliftment of society. He shared the letter on X, mentioning, 'The work of Mahatma Phule and Savitrimai is beyond opening water tanks for Dalits and promoting women's education. The film has been opposed in the 21st century as much as the couple faced opposition for their work in the 19th century, resulting deletion of nearly 12 scenes from the film.' 'Everyone must watch the struggle of the couple fighting to give a man the right to live as a human being,' he wrote, adding that people's misconceptions will also be cleared. Mumbai Congress president and MP Varsha Gaikwad demanded that the film be made tax-free in Maharashtra and screened in schools, especially girls' schools across the State. Crediting the Phule couple for all her achievements, Ms. Gaikwad said, 'Many women like me can get themselves educated and work in the political field just because of Phule's initiatives to educate women and the underprivileged sections of society.' 'We have a social responsibility towards them; the current generation should understand their struggle. This is possible through this film,' she wrote in the letter to Mr. Fadnavis. Meanwhile, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) Chief Prakash Ambedkar also raised his voice to make the film tax-free. 'I demand that the film be released without any cuts and be made tax-free in Maharashtra. VBA follows the Phule-Shahu-Ambedkarwadi ideology, and we will NOT tolerate and stay quiet to this insult of Mahatma Phule,' he posted on X, a few weeks ago.
