Mumbai: The BMC will end up paying over Rs 65 crore for a Rs 14-crore sewage operations and maintenance consultancy contract awarded in 1995, as Supreme Court recently dismissed the municipal corporation’s petition following a prolonged legal battle across multiple judicial tiers.While the standing committee on Tuesday approved the proposal for the payment, citing threat of BMC’s accounts being frozen, members from both the ruling party and opposition criticised the civic administration for imposing the financial burden on citizens.Standing committee chairperson Prabhakar Shinde sought a comprehensive inquiry into the matter, action against the officials responsible, and the tabling of a report within 15 days. He said this was the best example of how the standing committee was forced to take decisions “at gunpoint”, as the matter had been brought before it only four days earlier.According to the civic body, the contract for a study of the entire functioning and maintenance of the sewage disposal operation and maintenance system, including facilities in operation, under construction and those planned to be constructed over the next 10 years, was awarded to Canada-based R V Anderson Associates Ltd with PHE Consultants as its local partner in 1995. The contract period was 74 months and the work was completed in June 2001. Though there was no dispute regarding the quality of the work, the firms claimed pending, incomplete and delayed payments, besides interest, and initiated arbitration proceedings against the BMC.A three-member tribunal ruled in favour of the firms in June 2010 and directed the BMC to pay the claimants $20,78,349.25 and Rs 14,76,736, besides interest at the rate of 14% per annum on $10,89,926.88 and Rs 1,51,596 from June 2004. The BMC was also directed to pay Singapore Dollars 55,217 and Rs 15,57,500 as fixed arbitration costs, besides Singapore Dollars 42,815 and Rs 3,87,500 towards arbitration expenses.The BMC challenged the award before the Bombay High Court in November 2011. A single bench of Justice GS Patel dismissed the petition and upheld the award. The orders passed in October 2022 were published on the Bombay High Court website in August 2023.The BMC subsequently filed a petition challenging the order, which was dismissed by a two-judge bench in July 2025, upholding the award. The BMC then approached the Supreme Court in August 2025, but its petition was dismissed. A review petition filed in April this year was also dismissed.Shiv Sena (UBT) member Yashodhar Phanse sought to know which officials from the legal department encouraged the BMC to continue the litigation up to the HC and SC, and sought action against those responsible.Congress Group leader Ashraf Azmi sought an inquiry into the “avoidable” financial burden arising from prolonged litigation. He also demanded that the municipal commissioner place before the standing committee a consolidated statement of all significant monetary claims currently pending against the BMC before courts, tribunals or other judicial/quasi-judicial forums.
