CBI Files Case Against Ex-JNPT, Tata Consulting Engineers Officials in ₹800 Crore Dredging Scam
GG News Bureau
Mumbai/New Delhi, 21st June: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against former officials of Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE), the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), and two private dredging companies for alleged irregularities worth over ₹800 crore in the Capital Dredging Project near Mumbai.
The FIR follows a three-year preliminary inquiry into serious allegations, including inflated project estimates, manipulation of bidding processes to favour select international companies, suppression of expert assessments, and the granting of undue benefits to contractors.
Those named in the FIR include then JNPT Chief Engineer Sunil Kumar Madabhavi, former TCE Project Director Devdutt Bose, Boskalis Smit India LLP, Jan De Nul Dredging India Pvt Ltd, and other unidentified public servants. Charges have been filed under IPC Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), and various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Following the registration of the case on Wednesday, CBI teams carried out searches at five locations in Mumbai and Chennai, including the residences of Madabhavi and Bose, and offices of the implicated companies. Officials said they recovered key project-related documents, digital devices, and records of financial investments linked to public servants.
The dredging project was first proposed in 2003 to deepen and widen the shared navigational channel of JNPT and Mumbai Port to accommodate larger cargo vessels. TCE was appointed to prepare the final planning report for Phase-I, submitted in 2010, and later took over as project management consultants responsible for tender documentation and execution supervision.
The CBI FIR alleges that between 2003 and 2014 (Phase-I) and 2013 to 2019 (Phase-II), officials abused their positions, facilitating undue financial advantages to private entities and causing massive losses to the public exchequer.
There has been no official response so far from the companies named in the case. The CBI has said the investigation is ongoing.
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