{
  "id": 9381864,
  "title": "Mumbai: BMC Approves ₹11.18 Crore Election Works Awarded Without Tenders, Including ₹10.81 Crore For SIR",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/mumbai-bmc-approves-11-18-crore-election-works-awarded-without",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T17:10:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-bmc-approves-1118-crore-election-works-awarded-without-tenders-including-1081-crore-for-sir"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 23, 2026, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Standing Committee approved election-related works amounting to Rs 11.18 crore that were awarded without opening tenders for bids. This includes Rs 10.81 crore allocated for hiring data entry operators for updating the Societies Information Register (SIR). The operators, required to work across all 36 Assembly constituencies for four months at Rs 28,520 per month including taxes, were deployed by various agencies and individuals.\n\nAdditionally, Rs 8.83 lakh was spent on food and refreshments for engineers and BMC personnel involved in the initial inspection of 20,000 Control Units and 25,000 Ballot Units in Vikhroli and Kandivali. The catering services were provided by Shri Sai Caterers and Riddhi Siddhi Caterers, also without competitive bidding, due to the need to complete the inspection before the civic elections on December 15-29, 2025.\n\nFurther, Rs 4.99 lakh was approved for urgent civil and electrical repairs at the Sanskriti Sankul EVM warehouse in Kandivali (East). This repair work was carried out by M/s Nitin Enterprises, appointed through the R-Central ward, as the BMC deemed the tight deadline as the reason for avoiding the e-tendering process.",
  "summary": "Mumbai, September 23, 2026: The BMC Standing Committee has approved election-related works worth Rs 11.18 crore that were awarded without inviting tenders. The expenditure covers transportation of election equipment, EVM warehouse repairs, deployment of manpower and food arrangements during EVM inspections. The BMC had sought relaxation of tendering norms under Section 72(3) of the Mumbai…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}