Damania, Bhujbal at odds over Rs 4,500 crore PDS transport tender | Mumbai News
3 min readMumbaiMay 29, 2026 12:59 AM IST
A court order temporarily restraining the state government from issuing a work order in a Rs 4,500-crore foodgrain transportation tender under the Public Distribution System (PDS) has become yet another flashpoint between social activist Anjali Damania and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA and Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
While the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department headed by Bhujbal stated that no work orders had been issued, Damania alleged that Bhujbal was trying to push the process ahead for the sake of commission.
Under the National Food Security Act, 2013, the state’s Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department is responsible for ensuring regular and timely supply of foodgrains to eligible beneficiaries . As per the scheme, A single transporter is appointed in each district to transport foodgrains from Food Corporation of India (FCI) depots directly to ration shops.
Transport contracts for the 2022–2025 period were finalised based on the department’s Government Resolution dated January 15, 2021. As the contract period for the first phase — covering 21 districts and five ration distribution zones in Mumbai and Thane — neared completion, a proposal for a fresh tender process was submitted for approval to the minister, the Chief Minister and the Cabinet.
Following a Cabinet decision that the process be conducted under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, and approval by a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary, a Government Resolution was issued on April 24, 2026, and independent tenders were floated on April 30, 2026.
Meanwhile, petitions challenging the tender process have been filed before the Bombay High Court and its Aurangabad bench.
On May 19, the Aurangabad bench issued an interim order restraining the state government from issuing any work orders until the next hearing on June 22, while stating: “Authorities may proceed with the tender process; however, no work order shall be issued in all the districts pursuant to the impugned tender process.”
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Damania alleged that Bhujbal was attempting to proceed despite judicial scrutiny. “It seems that Bhujbal, who is eager to join the Rajya Sabha, wants to move ahead with this in anticipation of commission,” she said.
For years, Damania has raised issues related to alleged irregularities in the Maharashtra Sadan construction case linked to Bhujbal. The Anti-Corruption Bureau had filed a case in 2015 against Bhujbal and 16 others following a PIL in the Bombay High Court seeking a probe into alleged irregularities in the awarding of contracts worth over Rs 100 crore for three projects in 2006, when Bhujbal was the state Public Works Department (PWD) minister. He was discharged in the case by a special court in Mumbai in January this year.
