Mumbai, May 6 (MD): One of Sitaram Kunte’s last signatures before leaving the post of Municipal Commissioner is going to burn a huge hole in the pockets of more than 1,000 employees of the fire department.

If firemen are to believed, 1,260 firemen, fire officers, and even the current Chief Fire Officer (the fire department’s head), are going to be penalised more than Rs 36,000 in the case of junior employees and more than Rs 72,000 in the case of seniors for trying to get good-quality uniforms stitched instead of accepting the uniforms that were being given to them by the BMC through a contractor. 

Firemen say the BMC-issued uniforms were of poor quality, would not survive fires and would shrink after just one wash. What the firemen leave out, however, is the fact that the employees are being penalised because they have admitted to striking a deal with the contractor and taking 70% of the amount that was given to the latter in lieu of taking the “poor-quality” uniforms.

While they admit to this, firemen say that the amount they got from the contractor was a mere Rs 700 in 2012, the year the scam came to light, and the BMC’s plan of penalising them by holding back their increments for two years is too harsh.

The penalty will amount to Rs 1,500 per month for junior employees and Rs 3,000 for senior officials respectively. The firemen also claim that they would not have to take the money from the contractor if they were issued good-quality uniforms in the first place.

Beginnings

For decades, the BMC had been issuing tenders and appointing contractors to get uniforms stitched for all firemen and fire officers. In 2012, the BMC was supposed to pay the contractor R2,700 for two sets of uniforms per fire department employee.

The same year, it came to light that the firemen had entered into an understanding with the contractor and, instead of taking the uniform, would pocket 70% of the amount given to the contractor, with the latter keeping the remaining 30% without even having to give the uniform.

The contractor used to supply the sets of uniforms comprising a shirt, a pair of trousers, a coat and a cap in phases and by the time the scam came to light, he had supplied material worth only R1,000 per employee to the fire department. The accused firemen had, thus, received Rs 700 from the contractor with the latter pocketing the remaining Rs 300.

This had been happening for years and, when the scam came to light, an inquiry was initiated. Firemen and fire-officers were grilled by the BMC authorities and, till date, 1,260 fire department employees have admitted, in writing, that they accepted the money from the contractor. 1,100 more employees are still being investigated as they haven’t accepted that they took the money.

After the initial inquiry, a fire officer and two clerks were suspended as they had mentioned in the muster, where the distribution of uniforms was recorded, that the contractor had provided uniforms to everyone as per the rules.

Crack down

The inquiry concluded this year and the report stated that the 1,260 employees, including the current Chief Fire Officer Sunil Nesarikar, took money from the contractor instead of taking the uniform.

Last month, the then Municipal Commissioner, Sitaram Kunte, issued an order directing that the increments would be held back for all the 1,260 fire department employees for the next two years (2015-16 and 2016-17).

The increment this year has been Rs 1,500 per month for junior employees - firemen, leading firemen and drivers - and Rs 3,000 per month for senior employees - assistant station officers, station officers, assistant divisional fire officers, divisional fire officers, deputy chief fire officer and the chief fire officer.

The order comes into effect from July 1 and the junior employees thus stand to lose at least Rs 36,000 over the next two years and the seniors Rs 72,000 (see box).

‘Disproportionate’

Rajaram Dhuri, secretary, Mumbai Fire Fighters Services Sena, said, “Withholding increment for two years is totally unfair. They are being penalised these huge amounts for taking a mere Rs 700.

A lot of people are involved and had the authorities given better quality clothes, the firemen wouldn’t have to take money and get the uniforms stitched themselves. Hence, the BMC should only give a verbal warning to the firemen and officers and close the matter.”