BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has lodged FIRs against central PSU Bridge and Roof Company (India) Ltd, Kolkata, and Bigyan Construction Private Limited based in Khurda over alleged breach of contract, financial irregularities and delay in completing a housing project for slum dwellers and a mega composting centre in the city.
The FIRs have been registered separately against the two companies at Chandrasekharpur and Mancheswar police stations.Stating that the FIRs have been lodged as per the instruction of Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange, BMC officials said the case has been lodged against the Bridge and Roof Company for neither completing the housing project for slum dwellers and handing it over to them on time nor returning the Rs 21 crore paid to it for the work.
The civic body had reportedly signed an agreement with the Bridge and Roof Company for construction of houses for 400 slum dwellers of Mandap basti at a land cluster in 2014. The deadline for the G+4 building at the project site was July 2016. Accordingly, Rs 21 crore was paid to the firm with a condition that the work will be completed and handed over within the given deadline.“However, the firm has not constructed the houses even after seven years of agreement. It is also allegedly not returning the money given by BMC,” said an official.
Apart from this, FIR was also lodged against the Bigyan Construction Private Limited alleging that the company that had entered into an MoU with the civic body in April 6, 2023 to take up construction of the mega composting centre at Palasuni and compete it by August 2023, has so far completed only around 60 per cent work. No major progress has been made on part of the contractor despite repeated show cause notice from the BMC, officials claimed. Comment from the authorities of the two firms was yet to be received.