4 more plaints filed over BMC Covid spending ‘irregularities’ | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Friday registered four additional preliminary enquiries (PEs) in connection with alleged irregularities pertaining to spending by the BMC during the Covid pandemic.

The EOW is probing alleged financial misappropriation in the purchase of Remdesivir drug (to treat Covid-19), Covid body bags and masks besides money spent on setting up jumbo Covid centres and oxygen-generation plants.
The alleged irregularities came to light during the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s searches linked to a Covid centre scam case registered against the arrested businessman Sujit Patkar.

In June 2021, BMC had given a Rs 205-crore contract for setting up oxygen-generation plants in Covid centres. It was alleged that tainted companies were given the contract. Similar allegations of favouring a specific supplier for body bags and masks at higher rates had cropped up. “It is alleged that the purchase was done at thrice the amount paid by other municipal corporations through the same supplier,” said the officer. The third PE is about the alleged scam in the setting up of jumbo Covid centres. Another PE is about the purchase of Remdesivir at an exorbitant price.”There are allegations that unnecessary centres were set up when the Covid pandemic was waning, and that the centres lay vacant,” the officer added. The EOW will probe the role of BMC contractors and officials who were part of the tender process.
The PEs will be carried out under the supervision of Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar, special commissioner Deven Bharti, Jt CP (EOW) Nishith Mishra, and DCP (EOW) Sangramsinh Nishandar. The officer said while the ED was conducting some searches in a case, it found some incriminating material and then the agency began the PE. BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has also filed an application, seeking a probe into the allegations. Two weeks ago, the EOW registered three PEs to probe the irregularities pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report into the BMC’s expenditure on various works over two years. The SIT comprising 15 officers is probing the alleged irregularities pointed out by a CAG report into Rs 12,000 crore worth spending by BMC on various works. Of the three PEs, the first one is about an alleged Rs 206 crore scam in Dahisar Eksar land acquisition, while the second PE is about the alleged corruption of Rs 200 crore in the IT, road and traffic department. The third PE relates to over 60 works of Rs 5,000 crore in five departments of BMC.