BMC probes why imported desilting machines not used

Following a complaint by former Congress corporator Ravi Raja, the BMC has initiated a vigilance inquiry into desilting works where imported silt pusher and pontoon excavator machines were not being used but the BMC was being billed for it.

- Chaitanya Marpakwar

Mumbai: Raja had pointed out that though companies had bagged contracts to desilt major nullahs in the city and parts of the eastern suburbs using the imported machines, these were lying idle. The contractors were using conventional means to remove silt but charging more for the use of imported machines.

The BMC's vigilance department recently inspected desilting works and asked the BMC's stormwater drain (SWD) department to provide details of the exact quantities of silt removed from the nullahs using the modern machines.