Mumbai: The BMC has once again failed to attract any bidders for the desilting of the Mithi river, despite extending the tender deadline.The civic body floated a tender on Feb 28, inviting contractors to undertake desilting of the Mithi. While the original deadline for bids was March 11, it was extended to March 17 in an attempt to draw interested parties. However, officials confirmed that not a single bid has been received even after the extension.Sources within the administration said the deadline may now be pushed further by another week. “If this continues, the work may have to be carried out departmentally,” an official said.The issue was recently flagged at a high-level meeting attended by mayor Ritu Tawde, deputy mayor Sanjay Ghadi, leader of the house Ganesh Khankar, standing committee chairman Prabhakar Shinde and civic officials. Political leaders have asked the administration to be prepared with a backup plan if contractors continue to stay away.The BMC is even considering allowing contractors without prior desilting experience to participate—an indication of the urgency and limited interest in the project. Officials admitted they have informally reached out to contractors capable of executing the work, but have received no positive response.The proposed desilting is to be carried out in three phases, covering the stretch from Filter Pada to Mahim Creek—work considered critical to prevent flooding during the monsoon.Concerns over poor response surfaced even when the tender was first floated. Last year, contractors abandoned the work midway, and since then, no new players from Mumbai, Thane, or Navi Mumbai have shown willingness to take up the project.Civic officials also pointed out that desilting has increasingly become a politically sensitive and closely scrutinised activity. With elected representatives now actively involved, the pressure on timely execution is expected to be significantly higher this monsoon.Last year, of the three companies awarded a two-year contract for desilting Mithi, two failed to complete the work after getting embroiled in corruption cases and with the arrest of contractors and civic officials. The BMC subsequently foreclosed the contract, blacklisted all three firms, and terminated their contracts, leaving the river-cleaning exercise in limbo.
