Ahead of Maha polls, Cong-NCP, BJP spar over Shivaji memorial

The Congress-NCP on Monday alleged conflict of interest and corruption to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore under the garb of bringing down costs of the Shivaji Memorial being constructed off Mumbai's coast.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant and Mumbai president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Nawab Malik claimed the state government accepted advice from a legal firm recommended by the project consultant, rather than going by the wisdom of its own law and judiciary department or the state advocate-general.

"The short listed contractor for the project, L&T, had submitted a Rs 3800 crore bid which the government brought down to Rs 2500 crore through negotiations. The audit department had raised objections over the negotiations and has sought a detailed inquiry," said Sawant.

"The government's base price for the tender was kept at Rs 2692.50 crore but L&T's bid was Rs 3826 crore, 42 per cent higher than the government's estimate," he said.

In this situation, the ...