BMC Seeks Post-Facto Approval for ₹11 Crore Election Works Done Without Tender Process

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approached its standing committee seeking post-facto approval for election-related works worth nearly ₹11 crore that were carried out without following the usual competitive tendering process.

The civic election department has cited the urgent nature of the work and limited time available to complete various election preparations as the reason for bypassing the prescribed tendering procedure.

Four proposals covering different election-related activities were placed before the standing committee on Wednesday. The proposals sought relaxation of the normal tendering requirements under Section 72(3) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888.

The works included hiring data entry operators for electoral-roll revision, arranging food and refreshments during the inspection of electronic voting machines, carrying out urgent repairs at an EVM warehouse and transporting election-related equipment.

Largest expenditure was on data entry operators

The biggest of the four proposals involved an expenditure of around ₹10.8 crore on the appointment of data entry operators for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Mumbai and its suburbs.

The revision exercise is conducted to verify, update and maintain electoral rolls.

According to the civic proposal, as many as 40 data entry operators could be appointed in each electoral registration officer’s office across 36 assembly constituencies. The appointments were made for a period of four months.

The approved rate was ₹28,520 per operator per month, including taxes.

The BMC said the operators were appointed through different agencies as well as individuals because the electoral-roll revision exercise had to be carried out within a limited timeframe.

The civic administration has now sought approval for relaxing the requirement of inviting e-tenders through the BMC website and advertisements in newspapers.

BMC cites shortage of time

The administration has defended the decision by pointing to the urgency involved in completing the electoral work.

According to the proposal, following the normal e-tendering process would have taken additional time and could have affected the schedule of the SIR exercise.

The civic body also stated that the rates paid for the data entry operators were based on rates approved for the 2024 Assembly election through the city collector’s office.

The proposal therefore seeks approval after the expenditure and appointments had already been undertaken.

Food and refreshments arranged during EVM inspection

Another proposal before the committee concerned an expenditure of approximately ₹8.83 lakh on food, tea and snacks during the first-level inspection of electronic voting machines.

The inspection involved engineers from Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) along with BMC officers and employees.

Around 20,000 control units and 25,000 ballot units were inspected at EVM warehouses located in Vikhroli and Kandivli.

According to the civic proposal, two registered contractors, Shri Sai Caterers and Riddhi Siddhi Caterers, were engaged for providing food and refreshments.

The BMC said competitive tenders were not invited because the inspection had to be completed within a specific period, from December 15 to December 29, in connection with the municipal election process held on January 15.

Urgent repairs at Kandivli EVM warehouse

The election department also sought approval for around ₹5 lakh spent on urgent civil and electrical repairs at the EVM warehouse at Sanskriti Sankul in Kandivli East.

The work was assigned to Nitin Enterprises through the R-Central ward.

The BMC said the repairs needed to be completed within a prescribed timeframe and that following the regular e-tendering process could have delayed the work.

Given the importance of the warehouse for storing election equipment, the civic administration proceeded with the repairs and has now sought post-facto approval for relaxing the tendering requirements.

₹1.74 lakh spent on transporting election equipment

The fourth proposal related to the transportation of Printing Auxiliary Display Units (PADU) used during vote counting.

The equipment was transported from BEL in Bengaluru at a cost of around ₹1.74 lakh.

The BMC appointed MS International Travels without inviting competitive quotations.

The civic administration said the agency had previously transported EVM ballot units and control units during the 2025 general election and therefore had experience in handling sensitive election equipment.

The administration cited this previous experience and the urgency of the requirement while explaining why the usual competitive process was not followed.

Standing committee clears proposals

The four election-related proposals were presented before the BMC standing committee for approval.

According to the report, standing committee chairman Prabhakar Shinde of the BJP approved the proposals without much discussion among committee members.

The approvals allow the civic administration to regularise the election-related expenditure and the relaxation of the normal tendering procedure.

Focus on election preparedness

The BMC’s proposals cover different aspects of the election process, from maintaining electoral rolls and deploying manpower to inspecting and transporting EVM-related equipment.

The civic administration has maintained that the decisions were driven primarily by deadlines and the need to ensure that election-related preparations were completed on schedule.

At the same time, seeking post-facto approval means that the standing committee is being asked to formally approve expenditure and procedural relaxation after the work had already been undertaken.

The four proposals together highlight the logistical scale involved in organising elections in Mumbai, where large numbers of personnel, equipment, warehouses and support services have to be coordinated within fixed timelines.

With the BMC citing urgency as the primary reason for bypassing the standard tendering process, the proposals have brought attention to how civic authorities handle time-sensitive election-related requirements while managing procurement procedures and public expenditure.

News source: Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.