Mumbai: A major scam has come to light in Mumbai’s desilting operations, exposing how crores of public money were allegedly siphoned off under the guise of drain cleaning before the monsoon. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had claimed that pre-monsoon desilting was fully completed, but ground reports tell a different story.
Investigations reveal that several contractors submitted false reports and inflated bills, claiming work that was never done. Shockingly, many drains that were marked as “cleared” are still choked with garbage and sludge—leaving the city dangerously unprepared for heavy rains.
Insiders allege that payments were made even for non-existent work, with truck logs and removal data falsified to cover up the scam. Experts believe this scandal could involve crores of rupees and point to deep-rooted corruption within the civic body.
Activists and citizens are demanding strict action and a high-level investigation, possibly by the CBI, to hold those involved accountable. This is not the first time the desilting process has come under scrutiny—similar scams were exposed in past years, but no concrete action followed.
With the monsoon looming, Mumbaikars are once again left to wonder: Will this year bring floods due to clogged drains, or will the system finally clean up its act?
