BMC contracts

Ms Relcon Infraprojects Ltd

Topiwala Municipal Market

Goregaon-Mulund Link Road

Additional Municipal Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee

Blacklisted in Nov 2016, Relcon’s directors appointed their mother as partner in another firm to bid for new projects.When it comes to bagging, firms, it seems, will stop at nothing to remain in the game. Even the ones who have been blacklisted by the civic body.After using their wives as mules to piggy-back into new bids (read Mirror’s March 21 report: BMC scams get spousal support), it has now emerged that tainted contractors are using their mothers too to bid for tenders.According to documents accessed by this paper ,was blacklisted in a 2015 roads scam in November 2016. Earlier, an FIR was also registered against its directors Rakesh Shah and Dipan Shah by the BMC for cheating and fraud in April 2016.Last year, when the BMC floated two tenders – one for redevelopment of theworth around Rs 122 crore, and the other worth Rs 60 crore for widening of the Nahur stretch of the– a firm Ms Sunrise Stone Industries (SSI), one of the directors of which is the mother of two directors of Relcon, was shortlisted.Apparently, Rakesh and Dipan, who were also partners in SSI since 2010, resigned from the firm, transferred their shares in the name of their mother Kamakshi and made her one of the partners on November 21, 2016, right after Relcon was issued a show-cause notice.As soon as the familial scam to light, the BMC consulted its legal department, which pointed out that since Relcon’s directors were partners in SSI on the date of the suspension, SSI should be barred for bidding in any BMC tenders.The BMC then sought a second opinion from senior advocate EP Bharucha last month who told them that once Relcon’s registration was suspended, SSI’s registration automatically followed suit.“Even if the reconstitution of SSI is taken into account, it is clear from the reconstitution deed dated November 21, 2016 that the erstwhile partners of SSI and current directors of Relcon, Rakesh Shah and Dipan Shah have given way to Kamakshi Shah who now has 95 per cent share in profits/losses to the firm. There appears to be a prima facie family relationship between the individuals concerned. If the same were to be ascertained as a fact, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that SSI would ‘come within the sphere of effective influence’ of Relcon,” Bharucha’s opinion read.To avoid a legal puddle, the BMC scrapped the road-widening tender immediately., who is heading the project, said, “We have scrapped the tenders for GMRL’s Nahur road-widening work since the tainted contractor had bid.” He added that SSI has since been barred from bidding.However, there is no decision on the Topiwala project tender yet.Additional Municipal Commissioner Idzes Kundan, incharge of the BMC’s Building Construction Department, said that efforts are on to junk the tender. “Since our own legal department says the firm must be barred, we will scrap the current tender and re-invite the bids.”When contacted, Rakesh Shah denied knowledge of the scam.“I don’t look after these issues and can’t respond to your questions,” Shah said refusing to comment further.