The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) decision to award a Rs 36.83-crore contract to Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd for upgrading its Bhandup water treatment plant has come under scrutiny over the company’s alleged association with the Mithi River desilting scam.
The matter was raised during Wednesday’s civic standing committee meeting, with concerns focusing on former Virgo director and majority shareholder Jayesh Joshi, who was named in an Economic Offences Wing (EOW) investigation into alleged irregularities in desilting contracts awarded during 2021-22 and 2022-23. Joshi was reportedly arrested in May 2025.
The contract involves replacing ageing components at the BMC’s 900-million-litres-per-day (MLD) water treatment facility at Bhandup Complex.
Addressing the concerns, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar said the civic administration had consulted its senior legal counsel before allowing the company to participate in the tender.
“Two people were arrested in the Mithi River desilting scam, one of them a director of Virgo,” he said. “The issue arose when we learnt that the company was participating in the Bhandup tender, and that a person associated with it was connected to the Mithi River desilting controversy. We referred the matter to our senior legal counsel so that the decision could not be challenged in a court later. Firstly, the FIR was against the individual and not the company. Secondly, if the person is no longer associated with the company, it cannot be disqualified on that basis. It was on these grounds that the company was found eligible.”
Virgo Specialties and Suez India Pvt Ltd were the two bidders for the project, submitting their proposals by the January 21, 2026 deadline. Both cleared the technical evaluation. When financial bids were opened on April 21, Suez quoted Rs 31.59 crore excluding GST, while Virgo offered Rs 28.38 crore.
The BMC’s hydraulic engineering department recommended Virgo, citing its compliance with tender specifications, experience in similar civic projects and competitive pricing.
The project is expected to take 24 months, excluding the monsoon season. Work on each of the six clarifier tanks will be treated separately, with a three-year defect liability period. The proposal was subsequently approved by the standing committee.
Source: Hindustan Times
