Navi Mumbai: Two civic engineers of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) were suspended with immediate effect on Monday for not conducting proper checks, resulting in ‘substandard’ works at the prestigious Cycle Track project next to Palm Beach Road in Nerul.
The suspension of deputy engineer Kishor Amarnani and junior engineer Vinod Jain shocked civic staffers, many of whom had just returned to regular work from election duties.Many staffers and activists have also questioned why only junior civic officials face such tough action, and not the senior executives.
Talking to TOI, NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde confirmed: “We have suspended two civic engineers in connection with the cycle track project along Palm Beach Road, where the work done so far is not up to the mark. However, despite the substandard work, payment was made to the civic contractor. Hence, departmental action was taken.”
When asked why no action was taken against senior executives, Shinde reasoned, “It is the junior engineering staff who are on the ground where the project work is underway. They should have alerted their seniors if they knew the work was of substandard quality so that payment could be stopped to the contractor.”
However, RTI activist Anarjit Chauhan countered saying, “The Rs 12 crore worth Cycle Track project in Nerul is said to be among city’s most important works. A cycle track of nearly 7.5-km length is to be built parallel to Palm Beach Road so that citizens can safely cycle here. So, it is surprising that only two junior staffers have been suspended, while the executives are unscathed. The Measurement Book of Records (MBR) is signed by all the engineering staff connected to the project, including the city engineer. Why did the seniors sign the MBR and quickly released the payments to the contractor?”
Chauhan further added that as per the MPSC rules and regulations, action can also be taken against retired govt officials if they were involved in any wrongdoing while they were in service in their respective department.
Incidentally, the Nerul cycle track project was initiated after ardent cyclist and Intel India Country Head, Avtar Saini (68), was killed in a mishap while cycling on the busy Palm Beach Road in Feb this year.