Bhopal: BMC Faces Fraud Allegations Over ₹43 Lakh In New Building Project

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has come under fire after Leader of Opposition (LoP) Shabista Zaki alleged financial irregularities worth Rs 43 lakh in the construction of the corporation’s new building.

According to the BMC’s civil department, initially the estimated cost for building new headquarters of the Municipal Corporation was more than Rs 22.50 crore. The Mayor-in-Council could increase the amount by only 20 per cent, but it was directly increased by 50 per cent.

Due to which the total budget increased to more than Rs 33 crore. Now, again more than Rs 6 crore of previous cost was increased in the corporation’s budget for the year 2025-26. Even after this, the construction was not completed and the new date is decided as June 30.

Zaki claimed that BMC officials prematurely returned the contractor’s security deposit (SD) of Rs 43 lakh, even though the construction work is incomplete.

‘Not only was the SD refunded, no penalty was imposed on the contractor for the delay,’ she said. Further allegations include sudden changes in GST rates during the billing process.

According to Zaki, the first three payments included 12% GST, but it was later increased to 18% without proper documentation or explanation. ‘All payments made to the contractor were over Rs 1 crore and these irregularities suggest an attempt to benefit the contractor,’ she added.

MiC member defends corporation’s action

When questioned, Mayor-in-Council (MIC) member Ashok Vani defended the corporation’s actions and told Free Press that the SD was returned in exchange for a bank guarantee (BG), which he claimed is a standard procedure.

However, Zaki countered this, saying no such BG was submitted and there is no official documentation of GST change. Vani also said the increase in GST was in line with Central government rules, asserting that all procedures were followed correctly.