Mumbai civic body strips IT vigilance charge amid probe into Rs 200 crore scam

The head of the vigilance department probing an alleged financial scam worth crores of rupees in the Mumbai civic body's Information Technology (IT) department, M. Devendra Singh, has abruptly been stripped of the additional charge of the IT department. There is strong talk in the corridors of the civic body that the move was made to protect favoured engineers who, despite being transferred, have stayed put in the same department for over a decade and a half. However, following directions from the vigilance department, IT department director Kshirsagar has continued the investigation into the matter, causing a major stir in administrative circles.

According to information obtained under the Right to Information Act, three officers with civil and mechanical engineering backgrounds, Rajendra Fansde, Vilas Kumbhare and Amit Gadekar, have been working in the IT department since 2007. There are serious allegations against them that despite having no education or technical experience in the IT field, these officers have been directly taking decisions on tender processes and approvals worth hundreds of crores of rupees.

Allegations have also been made of the treasury being looted in the name of a data centre. Between 2012 and 2015, only Rs 66 crore was spent on the maintenance of the civic body's entire data centre and equipment. But in 2015, the civic body suddenly took the controversial decision to shut down its own well-equipped data centre and switch to private cloud infrastructure. While claiming to cut costs, contracts worth Rs 50 crore were given to Control S, Rs 35 crore to ABM and Rs 22 crore to ESDS. In addition, it is alleged that separate FMS contracts of Rs 75 crore and Rs 23 crore were floated for the maintenance of the civic body's original data centre, and a total of Rs 198 crore was spent between 2018 and 2021.

Complaints of some serious irregularities in the IT department were received. After investigating them, a final report has been submitted to the additional commissioner. Some complaints have also been received about irregularities in the IT department's tender process, which are under investigation, said IT department director Arun Kshirsagar.

Despite clear directions from the commissioner, some officers have still not been transferred. According to complainant Santosh Daundkar, a major financial game lies behind these transfers not taking place, which is encouraging corruption. He said such guilty officers should be booked immediately, and he has filed a written complaint with the commissioner and the vigilance department over the entire matter.

Opposition leader Kishori Pednekar has written a letter to the additional municipal commissioner over this major scam, putting the administration on the back foot. Pednekar has demanded a thorough investigation into the entire financial irregularity and the administrative decisions, and suspension action against those responsible.