The Times of India                04.05.2013

PCMC issues show-cause notice to contractor to recover Rs 3.19cr

Sarang Kamthekar of Vidyarthi Sena on Tuesday said the notice was issued early last month, a few days before Shiv Sena
corporator Seema Savale pointed out irregularities in the runninig of
the project. Savale had demanded scrapping of the plant, which was set
up six years ago at the Moshi garbage
depot. Kamthekar said he along with Savale had been pursuing the
progress of the project with PCMC’s environment department since January
2013.

“We had sent letters to the department pointing
out how the civic body has suffered a loss of Rs 3.31 crore in the last
five years as the contractor had failed to enhance the plant’s capacity
to 25 tonnes per day. The department on Tuesday gave us a copy of the
show-cause notice issued to the contractor on April 15. The notice
states that the contractor had not submitted any action plan to enhance
the capacity of the plant,” he said.

Savale had earlier said
the contractor was supposed to install a plant to process 25 tonnes of
plastic waste every day. The corporation has given Rs two crore to the
contractor and allotted five acres of land on lease for a period of 30
years at a nominal rent of Rs 1,000 per annum. However, the plant
processes just 1.5 tonnes of waste per day.

The environment
department had also sent a letter to the contractor in February,
specifying that he needed to make efforts to obtain grants for the
project from the Union government as per the conditions laid down in the
agreement.

Sanjay Kulkarni, executive engineer, environment
cell, said: “The contractor was directed to reply to the notice within
seven days, but he has not replied so far. The contractor has also been
directed to increase the plant’s capacity to 25 tonnes per day, but to
no avail. Action will be taken against the contractor for not following
the orders.”

The civic body , in January 2007, had taken a
decision to implement the project for disposal of plastic waste in
January 2007. The contractor was supposed to install a processing plant
of 25 tonnes capacity. The contractor was also given Rs 2 crore and
allotted five acres of land on lease for 30 years at a nominal annual
rent of Rs 1,000.