North MCD calls back 3 crucial projects over corruption charges

These include flagship projects where National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) was to construct a host of building projects on behalf of the North Corporation, renewal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) contract led to former Mayor Ravindar Guptta and then Leader of the House trading corruption charges against each other and Rani Bagh parking project.

 These projects had passed all the hurdles but controversial tendering process and allegation of corruption prompted the then Mayor to deny their final approval.

North MCD’s Mayor Sanjeev Nayyar said that these three projects would be withdrawn. “The NBCC project and MSW contract renewal has been referred back,” Nayyar said.

The agency had planned to construct almost six sites comprising nearly 2.5 lakh sqm land. The Corporation had decided to give the project to NBCC project where the government company (NBCC) would bear the entire cost of construction and will charge interest of 15 per cent of the total expenditure. 

The company will charge 7 per cent for Project Management Consultancy (PMC) and 1.7 per cent as marketing charges on total lease/rent consideration. The bone of contention, however, remains that an open tender was not conducted by the Corporation, unlike every other project of MCD. 

The civic agency informed that the NBCC is likely to construct a civic centre-type structure at Azadpur as there is a huge chunk of vacant land. The Corporation has been planning to develop around 84,000 sqm land at Model Town, 1.01 lakh sqm at Azadpur, 31,500 sqm at Dhaka, 4,200 sqm and 13,500 at Minto Road, approximately 3,200 sqm at Walled City and one lakh sqm at Kashmiri Gate, Paharganj and Karampura.

In a letter to BJP President Satish Upadhyay, former Mayor Ravindar Gupta had alleged that Leader of the House Yogender Chandolia and the Standing Committee Chairman Mohan Bhardwaj were trying to award a contract for projects worth Rs 10,000 crore to NBCC even as other PSUs were ready to execute the same at a lower cost.

In a yet another case, the project regarding the renewal of garbage-lifting contract in North Delhi areas. Few months ago, the matter pertains to the renewal of the contract for garbage collection at the rate of Rs 1,300 per metric tonnes was taken up. During the House meeting, the then Mayor Ravindar Gupta had been maintaining that the same can be done at Rs 475 per metric tonne.

The issue led to a dispute between ex-Mayor Ravindar Gupta and former Leader of the House Yogender Chandolia trading corruption charges against each other. While Gupta accused Leader of House Yogendra Chandolia of “benefiting” private contractors, the latter had hit back alleging that the Mayor has been collecting “donations” in the name of the party fund.

 Gupta also wrote a letter to Satish Upadhyay that the standing committee officials were building undue pressure on him for awarding the contract of garbage lifting at a higher price when it could be done at a lower cost. “It is not possible to lift garbage at a price lower range than Rs 1,200 metric tonnes as other MCDs are also charging the same,” said Yogender Chandolia on Monday.

Faced with financial crisis, North MCD had decided to auction the plot at Sant Nagar in Rani Bagh to come up with a multi-level parking facility for 600 cars. The multi-level parking over an area of 3000 sq meter was supposed to be completed by year 2017.

 The same project had earlier been given on PPP basis, but the Corporation’s Standing Committee had cancelled the tender and cleared the proposal to auction the plot. The previous tender was about to be given the highest bidder, consortium of Meriton Towers Pvt Ltd and ABA Builders Ltd, for a one-time amount of Rs.27 crore and security of Rs1.30 crore.

 The bid security amount was however refunded to the consortium. According to North MCD officials, the project was supposed to earn a revenue of Rs 27 crores.