Hyderabad-based infrastructure giant Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 140 crore on April 11, 2023, a month before securing the tender for the lucrative Rs 14,400-crore Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project. This revelation came after data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday.
MEIL, established in 1989, emerged as one of the significant purchasers of electoral bonds, having acquired a total of Rs 821 crore worth of bonds, as per the released data. The firm stood second on the list of companies who purchased the most electoral bonds, behind 'Lottery King' Santiago Martin's Future Gaming And Hotel Services.
The tender for the Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project, involving the construction of two road tunnels under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, was floated by the Maharashtra government's Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) in January of the same year. MEIL stood out as the sole bidder whose technical bid met the requirements laid out by MMRDA.
Earlier reports from The Indian Express highlighted that in May 2023, the Bombay High Court dismissed two petitions filed by Mumbai-based engineering firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T), contesting the rejection of its bids for the tunnel construction project by MMRDA.
L&T had submitted petitions challenging the rejection of its technical bids for both Package 1 and Package 2 of the project. Package 1 entails constructing 5.75 km of the tunnel on the Borivali side, while Package 2 involves constructing 6.09 km of the tunnel on the Thane side. However, MMRDA argued in court that L&T's request to rectify errors after the financial bids were opened couldn't be accommodated as per norms, leading to the dismissal of both petitions.
The MMRDA had stated in court that L&T's request to correct its mistake after the financial bid was revealed could not be granted according to regulations. The MMRDA also requested the dismissal of both pleas.
MEIL's significant electoral bond purchases in close proximity to winning the tender have raised concerns about potential links between political financing and contract awards, prompting further scrutiny into the matter.