Mumbai, Oct 3 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday claimed irregularities in many infrastructure projects and warned the MMRDA chief he would face “inquiry” or even “jail” once Maha Vikas Aghadi returns to power in the state.
Addressing a news conference, Thackeray claimed the bank guarantee furnished by the contractor of an ambitious twin-tunnel project, connecting Thane city with Borivali in the western suburb, is from a bank located in a Caribbean country.
The former minister wondered if the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had approved this particular bank guarantee. Any official or politician involved in these irregularities will face action, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July had laid the foundation stone for the twin-tunnel project, which will be executed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA).
“I can say for sure that irregularities, be in pods (pod taxis) or the twin-tunnel projects, were committed by the MMRDA. I am telling the MMRDA chief that you have to face inquiry. We are coming to power. You have to decide whether you want to go inside (jail) or face inquiry.
“Do not loot our Maharashtra or Mumbai. You do you work lawfully and we will fully back you. But we will not spare you if you loot (the state or city),” Thackeray said referring to MMRDA Commissioner and senior IAS officer Sanjay Mukherjee.
Sena (UBT) is a part of the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with NCP (SP) and Congress as its allies. MVA performed impressively in the recent Lok Sabha polls, winning 30 of 48 seats in the state. Maharashtra assembly elections are due in November.
This is not the first time Aaditya Thackeray and his father and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray have warned bureaucrats.
In the past, he had warned former Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation chief I S Chahal of action in the alleged scam in the concretisation of roads in Mumbai. Chahal was supposed to be close to the Thackerays and had been praised for his work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Referring to the road project between Gaimukh in Thane and Bhayander, Aaditya Thackeray claimed that a short tender notice was issued for works worth Rs 14,000 crore. The project involves a Rs 8,000-crore tunnel and a Rs 6,000-crore elevated road.
The MMRDA, he said, issued the tender on September 13 and the final submission date was October 3.
“How fair is it to issue a short tender notice for any project worth Rs 14,000 crore. Short tender notices are issued only for emergency works,” Thackeray said.
He also claimed massive cost escalations in infrastructure projects like the Metro and said all alleged irregularities will be probed once the MVA comes to power. PTI PR NR
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