Mumbai: Top BMC leader caught on tape 'threatening' contractor

The chairman of the civic bodyrsquos standing committee and Shiv Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav has been caught on tape asking a contracting firm to withdraw from civic projects in Eward Byculla that it bagged through an online tender process midday has a recording of the phone conversation where Jadhav is purportedly telling a representative of Yash Corporation to give up projects in his ward no 209 in Byculla Jadhavrsquos wife Yamini Jadhav is a Shiv Sena MLA from Byculla constituencyWhile Yashwant Jadhav is a corporator from Byculla his wife is an MLA from the area Representation picIn the audio clip which is a phone call recorded by a Yash Corporation representative Jadhav is heard saying Mera message mila ki nahin Aapko system malum hai ki nahin Kyon mere idhar kaam kar rahe ho Aap withdraw kar lo Did you get my message Are you aware of the system Why are you working in my area You withdraw the work Interestingly one of the three people authorised by Yash Corporation for the various civic works is Vaibhav Gangan an active member of Sena in the western suburbsYamini Jadhav Shiv Sena MLA PICTWITTERYash Corporation was selected through the etendering process for a slew of unstar quotation work worth Rs 217 crore in E ward When the firm refused to withdraw from the work Jadhav allegedly said during the call Apko yahaan kaam karna hai ki nahin do you want to continue working here read BMC or notVaibhav Gangan one of the people authorised by Yash Corporation to execute projects is an active Shiv Sena memberFurther when the contractor expressed his inability to accept Jadhavrsquos request of withdrawing work the standing committee chairman allegedly said Main samajta hoon tum nahin sun rahe ho Nahin samajh rahe ho Tumhara aadmi ward mein kab ayega ya tum kabh aaoge main milta hoon Ya tum kahan rehte ho wahan main aata hoon When will you or your representative come to the ward I will meet you there Or let me know where you stay I will come there and explain to youCivic workers create social distancing markers in Byculla amid COVID19 File picRecording is our evidenceSpeaking to midday Surajpratapsingh Deora a representative of Yash Corporation said that the conversation with Jadhav was recorded for safety purposes Our firm assured Jadhav that hereafter we will not bid in the E ward and requested to execute the current work we have bagged But the standing committee chairman was firm Left with no choice we recorded the conversation for our safety so that tomorrow if anything goes wrong we have evidence to substantiate our claims Yash Corporation is headed by Ramesh Solanki who is currently recuperating from COVID19 Deora along with two other people has been authorised by the firm to manage their workDeora added Ideally after the opening of bids within three days civic authorities need to issue a chalan for the allotted work But in our case BMC administration is yet to complete the postbidding process The process is stuck due to political pressure We should not be held responsible for delays in work as the BMC administration is yet to complete the procedure for our firm to commence the workYash Corporation was the lowest bidder for wardlevel emergency work such as the repair of toilets pathways drainage etc Usually Vaibhav Enterprises and Rajdeep Enterprises are known players which participate in the bids for such work in the area For the first time Yash Corporation participated and got the contractA couple of years ago contractors had complained to the then civic chief Ajoy Mehta about political interference and pressure at the ward level Mehta had termed it as a serious issue and ordered a probe Amid no evidence no action was takenAround a decade ago former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan too had talked about the lsquopoliticiancontractorrsquo nexus and suggested certain remedies With the latest JadhavDeora episode many in the civic corridors feel the lsquotraditional systemrsquo still continues in the corporationAlso ReadMumbai 45yearold BMC contractor stabbed to death body found near public toilet in KharWhat Jadhav saysJadhav told midday that the contractor is known for doing inferior quality work in areas where he secured contracts earlier The contractor crossed his limit when he offered to work on a percentage sharing basis How can a contractor dare to speak in such language with the chairman of the standing committee Irked with the behaviour of the contractor I decided to emphasise on his withdrawal from the workJadhav added that he will move to blacklist the contractor There is a motive and political involvement behind this episode Jadhav said He added that as a corporator he has the right to red flag a contractor with a bad track record I have written to the administration to cancel all works awarded to this controversial firm and to enquire into their previous civic work in MumbaiUnstar quotationUnstar quotation is work which ranges from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 25 lakh Assistant commissioners can spend up to Rs 5 lakh with the ward councilrsquos approval and deputy municipal commissioners can spend up to Rs 25 lakh While corporators in ward councils have a fund of Rs 1 crore each Work beyond Rs 25 lakh has to be sanctioned by the additional commissioner and that beyond Rs 50 lakh needs the approval of the standing committeeKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news