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Mumbai: 19-year Old Student's RTI Revelation Leads to PIL on Mulund Road Project Scam

A family friend died due to a pothole accident, which led to discussions at home that exposed her to the ground realities of infrastructure corruption

Mumbai: 19-year Old Student's RTI Revelation Leads to PIL on Mulund Road Project Scam
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Aiman Sheikh, a 19-year-old Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) student from Ghatkopar, developed an interest in public administration during college. Inspired by a campus campaign on civil rights and the Right to Information (RTI) Act, she began filing RTI applications unaware that one would uncover a scam worth nearly INR 90 lakh in the 2018 Mulund road project, as per the report by Indian Express.

The information she received revealed inflated payments, the use of fake truck numbers, and apparent misuse of public funds. Following multiple appeals and no substantial response from the authorities, she filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court. Taking cognizance of her petition, a bench comprising Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Sandesh Patil ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to form a two-member inquiry committee, including an Additional Commissioner and a Chief Engineer, to probe the allegations.

According to her petition, VAT was wrongly levied on the project even though it had been abolished in 2017 and replaced by GST. Vehicle records also raised suspicions as five trucks listed in the project were registered as motorcycles, and three had no registration records at all. These discrepancies were allegedly approved by an assistant engineer, further pointing to systemic corruption.

Aiman claimed that bribes play a significant role in contract allocation. "Tenders are supposed to go to the lowest bidder, but the contract often goes to those who can pay off politicians and officials," she said, alleging that kickbacks of 15–16% of the project value are standard. She demanded criminal action against all officials involved.

Her motivation for the investigation was deeply personal. A family friend died due to a pothole accident, which led to discussions at home that exposed her to the ground realities of infrastructure corruption. She later filed a police complaint in 2023 and wrote to the BMC, but after no action was taken, she approached the High Court.

Commending her efforts, the judges remarked that young citizens taking interest in civic matters must be encouraged.

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