A Rs 150 crore tender floated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for thermoplastic road-marking work has been cancelled, bringing renewed attention to concerns around procurement practices within the civic administration in Mumbai.
The contract aimed to introduce thermoplastic paint across city roads to improve durability and enhance night-time visibility of lane markings and zebra crossings, thereby supporting road safety. However, the proposal came under scrutiny after objections were raised by Ameet Satam.
Satam questioned the tender’s structure, particularly the equal allocation of ₹50 crore each to the island city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs. He argued that such a distribution lacked justification, noting that the western suburbs have a road network nearly three times larger than the other regions. The allocation was described by him as “arbitrary and lacked proper analysis,” forming the basis of his complaint to the civic body.
Further concerns were raised over the absence of a cost-per-kilometre benchmark in the tender document, which was seen as reducing transparency and raising doubts over pricing. It was alleged by Satam that “cartelisation may be at play,” suggesting the process could be open to manipulation.
The issue also drew attention to the decision to float a separate tender despite the BMC already undertaking a ₹10,000 crore road concretisation programme. Under this initiative, hundreds of kilometres of roads are being upgraded, prompting questions on why road-marking work was not integrated.
Satam also criticised broader systemic practices, stating that some projects appeared to be influenced by contractors. He said this trend should be “completely eliminated,” adding that “there is a dire need to make our systems citizen-centric rather than contractor-centric.”
Following a complaint to municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani and intervention by mayor Ritu Tawde, the tender was officially cancelled and removed from the civic e-procurement portal.
Source: Mumbai Live
