In a major set back to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has asked the civic body to recover Rs 127.21 crore from contractors who supplied water meters.
It asked the BMC, controlled by the Shiv Sena, to recover this amount in six months.
"If the contractors fail to repay the amount, a legal case should be filed against them," the PAC stated in its recommendations.
The PAC observed that water meters worth Rs 785 crore were purchased for equitable distributions.
It stated that the BMC had purchased 1,27,775 water meters of which only 87,000 meters were deployed as per the plan.
When exit conference was held with the BMC officials, 46,918 meters were yet to be deployed, it observed.
The PAC also pointed out that the auditor report of the BMC had issued strictures over the water meters not being deployed. The meters had now become very old and thus could not be used anymore, the report stated.
"Of the 13 officers who were supposed to be responsible for this mess, seven have been retired and one has been promoted. It is a very serious matter. Had the BMC acted promptly, the officials would not have retired so easily," PAC stated.
The PAC also asked the officials to complete the investigation within three months, the report said.
The PAC comprises of MLAs from all the political parties with an MLA from the opposition as chairman of the committee.
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