BMC blacklists firm for 7 years over connection with debarred companies

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has blacklisted a company for seven years after it was found that there was a connection between the two contractors debarred earlier in the nullah cleaning scam.

The firm, M/s Global Waste Management Pvt Ltd, had been shortlisted last year for garbage collection contracts to the tune of around Rs 100 crore. The contracts were for Bandra (in two wards) for seven years. However, the BMC received several complaints citing links to M/s Kaviraj Infratech Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Vishwashakti Construction, the disentitled companies.

Vipul and Jamnalal Jain, directors of Kaviraj Infratech, and Kamlesh and Rajkumar Jamnalal Jain, directors of Vishwashakti Construction, were blacklisted in the desilting scam in 2016. It seems all four of them were directors of M/s Global Waste Management Pvt Ltd as well when Kaviraj Infratech and Vishwashakti had issued a notice.

The civic body has also clarified that although they resigned as Global Waste Management’s directors in July 2017, and the final order was issued later, the restriction applies to the said company.

The legal team of the civic body was divided over the issue and took some months to arrive at the said decision after referring to Registration Rules, 1992. The team came to a decision that blacklisting orders are applicable to all partners, shareholders, kin or relatives and spouses.

“We have ordered that the blacklisting order of 2016 be made applicable to Global as well,” informed the Additional Municipal Commissioner Vijay Singhal. The ruling now means that the firm cannot bid for any civic contract for seven years starting from the year 2016, that is, till 2023.

Meanwhile, Global Waste Management has moved the court against the order. It had filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court against the order on April 26. The HC heard the petition on April 27 but did not grant any relief.