Cost of Worli robo parking hub rises by 30%

Mumbai: The cost of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) upcoming multilevel electro-mechanical car parking system, also known as robo parking, at Worli has escalated by a whopping 30% even before the tender for the project has been awarded, documents accessed by the Hindustan Times show. Activists alleged the escalation was due to corruption and contractor fixing and accused the civic body of spending public money thoughtlessly on high-end projects while important bridges in the city awaited repairs.

As per the tender floated by the BMC in March 2023, the cost of the Worli multilevel parking project was pegged at ₹165 crore. It comprised a ground plus 23-floor building with two additional levels in the basement, with space for 640 parking slots. But the tender was cancelled in October 2023 reportedly because all bids were higher than the estimated cost. When BMC reissued the tender on December 28, 2023, the cost was hiked to ₹216 crore without any major changes in tender conditions, alleged activist Kamlakar Shenoy.

“The BMC appointed a project management consultant during the interim period, who increased the cost by more than 30%,” said Shenoy, who accessed the BMC’s internal communication documents showing escalation in project cost, which he shared with the HT.

The documents show that the BMC approved the escalated cost even though its deputy chief engineer (traffic) stated the consultant had modified some tender conditions without intimating the office. For instance, the price variation cap of 10% was removed and the project time was increased from 30 months to 48 months without informing the BMC’s engineers.

“This is pure corruption and against the larger public interest.” said Shenoy. He shared a comparison table which showed the cost per parking slot for the Worli project (excluding civil works) was ₹17.4 lakh, while in similar projects in Mumbadevi and Matunga, the cost per slot was ₹10.57 lakh and ₹9.32 lakh, respectively.

Shenoy alleged that like in Worli, multilevel parking projects at Mumbadevi and Matunga too were marred by discrepancies, but the BMC had refused to investigate these despite several letters to the vigilance department, police, economic offences wing and senior BMC officials. “In both cases, tenders are being awarded even though no objection certificates have not been issued. How is this even possible,” asked Shenoy, accusing the BMC of wasting public money in such projects without any application of mind.

“Work on key bridges in the city like the Carnac bridge and the Hancock bridge are stuck in a limbo. But the BMC is in a hurry for gimmicks like robo parking,” said Shenoy.

When HT asked P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner (projects) about the allegations, he responded saying ‘no comments’.

Ravi Raja, former leader of opposition in the BMC’s standing committee, said the civic body first needs to ascertain whether such costly parking lots are required in the first place. “It has now become the tendency of the BMC to deliberately inflate tenders. How has the tender cost risen by more than ₹60 crores suddenly? This is a clear indication of contractor fixing and loot of public money,” said Raja.