‘I raised several issues in the State Assembly, including Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) tender for the purchase and operation of 250 electric buses in Nagpur. After my complaint and the threat of launching a strong protest, NMCwas forced to issue a fresh tender’, said West Nagpur MLA and President of Nagpur City (District) Congress, Vikas Thakre in a press release. He further added that his efforts have saved Rs 275.50 crore of taxpayer money when he exposed that tender scam regarding the purchase and operation of 250 electric buses by NMC worth Rs 1,300 crore.
चंदा लो धंधा दो! Vikas Thakre, MLA, alleged in Assembly that @nmccommissioner extended time period of Rs 1,300 Crore tender to procure 250 City Buses & opened financial bid despite Code of Conduct in place & single bidder to favour company of Megha Engineering. @VikasThakreINC pic.twitter.com/hiLgUGchTb
— Anjaya Anparthi (@anjaya1905) July 3, 2024
Thakre claimed that initially, the NMC had begun to award the new tender to a subsidiary of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) at Rs 78 per kilometer ( Rs 1,423.5 crore for the entire contract). This was the only bid that NMC received and was ready to sign the contract which was against the process of awarding the contract. But Thakre managed to save the public money by raising voice. Eventually, the joint venture of EKA Mobility and Hansa Travels offered the lowest rate at Rs 62.9 per kilometer (Rs 1,148 crore for the entire contract).
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This is not for the first time that Thakre has unravelled major irregularities in the operations of NMC. He mentioned yet another controversial company that purchased electoral bonds and another subsidiary of MEIL, Evy Trans. This company was set to receive the contract from the NMC for supplying and operating 250 electric buses over a period of 10-years. The budget for the contract was Rs 1,423.5 crore. Though NMC carried out a proper due diligence of the bidding process, ultimately awarded the bid to Evy Trans under questionable circumstances at a lower rate of Rs 62.9 per kilometer. This saved Rs 275.5 crore of taxpayers’ money.
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The MSRTC’s Project worth Rs 70,378 Crore Allegedly Misused
Strong objections were raised by Thakre over the award of Rs 70,378 crore worth contract by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to MEIL’s subsidiaries – Olectra Greentech Limited and EV Trans Private Limited. This contract included the purchase and operation of 5,150 electric buses for a period of 12 years at a rate of Rs 78 per kilometer.
According to Thakre this contract was given at a very high rate and incorporated an excess expenditure of at least Rs 11,730 crore in comparison to similar contracts awarded by MSRTC in the past.
Thakre further added that despite a large number of buses being purchased and operated, the rate of Rs 78 per kilometer is very high compared to similar contracts by NMC and BEST at an average rate of Rs 65 per kilometer. Thakre further pointed out that MEIL is a controversial company and the second largest donor of electoral bonds – majority of which went to the BJP party.
READ THIS ALSO: Nagpur Municipal Corporation Faces Allegations of Favoring Electoral Bond Donor Megha Engineering’s Subsidiary