The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently searched 15 places, including Bollywood actor Dino Morea’s house in Mumbai, as part of an investigation into a major scam related to the Mithi River desilting project. The ED is looking into a ₹65 crore loss faced by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) due to alleged fraud.
The raids were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Along with Dino Morea, the ED also searched his brother’s home and the offices of some contractors and middlemen in Mumbai and Kochi.
Earlier, Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had questioned Dino Morea. The police have filed a case against 13 people, including some BMC officials and contractors, for their role in the scam.
What is the Mithi River Scam?
The Mithi River flows through Mumbai and is very important for flood control during the monsoon. Between 2021 and 2023, the BMC spent a huge amount on cleaning the river. But the desilting (removal of sludge), transporting, and dumping of waste from the river were not done properly.
It is alleged that some officials manipulated the tender process to help certain suppliers win contracts, even though proper work was not done. This caused a big financial loss to the city.
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A special team is now reviewing the entire ₹1,100 crore spent on this project from 2005 to 2021 to check for more corruption and financial mismanagement.
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This case is part of a larger effort to expose irregularities in one of Mumbai’s key flood-prevention projects.
