28 May,2025 07:58 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar Sharma
The Mithi spans a total length of 17.84 km, flowing from the Powai and Vihar lakes to the Arabian Sea at Mahim creek. File Pic/Ashish Raje
BJP MLC Prasad Lad, who had raised alarm bells over the Mithi river desilting scam during the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislature, met with Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti on Tuesday and submitted several documents related to the multi-crore fraud, which is currently under investigation by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
Speaking to mid-day after the meeting, Lad claimed that the scam is far greater in scope than previously estimated. "This is not just a Rs 65 crore scam - it exceeds Rs 1200 crore. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is currently examining irregularities from only the past couple of years, but this scam spans over a decade and a half," Lad said.
Prasad Lad, Bharatiya Janata Party MLC. File Pic/Shadab Khan
He urged the police to scrutinise fund allocations and disbursals for the last 15 years related to the Mithi river desilting project. He also demanded the arrest and interrogation of actor Dino Morea, whose name has surfaced in the probe.
âWhere was waste dumped?'
Lad raised serious questions about the logistics and documentation associated with the project. "If the accused claim to have removed 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of silt annually, where was it all dumped over the past 15 years? Many of the locations they cited as dumping sites are now occupied by buildings and towers," he said.
He added that the SIT must investigate the GPS data and satellite imagery of trucks supposedly used to transport the waste. "The entire supply chain - from desilting to dumping - needs to be scrutinised. The roles of actors and politicians in this scam must not be ignored," he said.
Fake documents, ghost MoUs
The scam involves fraudulent payments to contractors based on forged documents, resulting in an estimated loss of over R65.54 crore to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The SIT filed an FIR at Azad Maidan police station after uncovering a series of fake memoranda of understanding (MoUs), including one allegedly signed by a person who had died 20 years ago.
Dino Morea, who was questioned by the EOW on Monday. File pic
When police visited the supposed dumping sites, they discovered that several were falsely claimed. Some were now residential row houses or open plots, with no trace of sludge having ever been dumped. In total, investigators found nine MoUs that were either unsigned, lacked landowners' consent, or contained forged signatures. Many landowners stated they had no knowledge of the agreements.
The FIR has named 13 individuals, including contractors and BMC officials, for allegedly colluding to fabricate documents and secure payments. Contractors claimed to have obtained permissions from landowners and gram panchayats, but most documents were either forged or signed by unauthorised individuals.
âWhere are walls?'
Lad also pointed to the Rs 1400 crore sanctioned from the Prime Minister's fund after the 2005 Mumbai floods for constructing retaining walls along the Mithi river. "Where are those walls? That money, too, needs to be accounted for," Lad said. He stressed that those arrested so far are just "small fry," while the real conspiracy involves senior civic officials, contractors, and politicians.
Actor's role
"Yesterday [May 26], EOW officers questioned Dino and his brother Santino in connection with the case. The scam is evidently much deeper than we had initially anticipated," said Lad. He emphasised that he has submitted crucial documents to the police and demanded a thorough and expanded investigation. "This is a well-oiled nexus between civic engineers, private firms, and middlemen, designed to siphon off public funds under the pretext of cleaning the Mithi river," he added.
The FIR names several companies, including Acute Designs, Kailas Construction Company, NA Construction, Nikhil Construction Company, and JRS Infrastructure. These firms allegedly submitted falsified documents to the BMC's stormwater drainage (SWD) department, which approved them without proper verification. As a result, payments were made even though no actual work was done.
Between 2013 and 2023, the SWD department reportedly paid over Rs 45.50 crore based on these forged MoUs and reports. Officials responsible for verifying the documents allegedly overlooked the process, thereby enabling the scam and allowing the contractors to retain their tenders. As investigations continue, pressure is mounting on authorities to expand the scope of inquiry and ensure accountability at every level of the administration.
