Thane: Almost 10 years after the work of beautification and maintenance of Masunda Lake in Thane was awarded to a firm owned by the mother of a Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) employee, the Bombay high court on Wednesday quashed the 25-year contract.
A division bench of Justice P B Majmudar and Justice R M Savant termed the awarding of the contract "arbitrary'' and asked the TMC to invite fresh tenders. "By giving the lease for such a long period and that too without inviting any tenders, the TMC has acted in an arbitrary manner,'' said the judges. "The TMC, on the basis of presence of influential persons, cannot take arbitrary decisions.''
After the TMC awarded the contract to Precision Fisheries, Sonalaxmi Machimar Sahakari Society, which was earlier in charge of providing boating facilities on the lake, moved the high court, saying no tenders were invited. The petitioners also pointed out the proprietor of Precision was the mother of a junior TMC clerk, D K Thanekar.
The TMC said that Precision was awarded the contract as specialized work was required to maintain the lake. Precision claimed to have spent Rs 67 lakh on the lake in the last 10 years. The HC, however, said that there was no material on record to show that Precision had spent the amount on the lake.
"There's nothing on record to suggest that Precision had any experience worth the name for carrying out the nature of work in question,'' remarked the judges.
A division bench of Justice P B Majmudar and Justice R M Savant termed the awarding of the contract "arbitrary'' and asked the TMC to invite fresh tenders. "By giving the lease for such a long period and that too without inviting any tenders, the TMC has acted in an arbitrary manner,'' said the judges. "The TMC, on the basis of presence of influential persons, cannot take arbitrary decisions.''
After the TMC awarded the contract to Precision Fisheries, Sonalaxmi Machimar Sahakari Society, which was earlier in charge of providing boating facilities on the lake, moved the high court, saying no tenders were invited. The petitioners also pointed out the proprietor of Precision was the mother of a junior TMC clerk, D K Thanekar.
The TMC said that Precision was awarded the contract as specialized work was required to maintain the lake. Precision claimed to have spent Rs 67 lakh on the lake in the last 10 years. The HC, however, said that there was no material on record to show that Precision had spent the amount on the lake.
"There's nothing on record to suggest that Precision had any experience worth the name for carrying out the nature of work in question,'' remarked the judges.
Tejas Tamore
Sonalaxmi M. S. Soc.
