Today, October 20, a proposal about housekeeping and other maintenance works in municipal schools will be presented in front of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s Standing Committee for approval.
A cost variation proposal from INR 209.78 crores to INR 368.89 crores in the original contract, which was from March 2019 to September 2021, was tabled before the standing committee on March 31, state reports.
However, the proposal was rejected by Congress and BJP corporators. They slammed the civic body for the alleged losses incurred since the tenders to appoint new contractors weren't invited. They also slammed the civic administration about the expenditure amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were shut.
The BMC, while clarifying the issue, had said that they did invite tenders to appoint new contractors. However, they got a very poor response. Further, the allegations of corruption delayed things.
They received only two responses for the tenders. Later, Sunil Prabhu, Shiv Sena MLA, had written a letter to the municipal commissioner alleging irregularities in tender conditions. A probe was done on this matter, and hence the process of awarding new contracts was delayed. The civic body, while clarifying the expenditure, stated that even though they approved INR 63.98 crores, only INR 43.25 crores was spent.
Also read: Mumbai: 79 Municipal Schools Yet To Restart In-Person Classes For Grades 8 To 10
There are 338 municipal schools in the city but around 50 of them were used for isolation and vaccination centres after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Mumbai.
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