Maharashtra Ambulance Tender Case: Bombay HC Dismisses Plea Alleging Irregularities In ₹759 Crore MEMS Contract

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that alleged irregularities in awarding a contract to a consortium for acquiring and managing 1,756 life-support ambulances under the Maharashtra Emergency Medical Service (MEMS) scheme. The scheme is aimed at offering pre-hospital healthcare services to critically ill patients and accident victims across Maharashtra.

The PIL was filed by Vikas Lawande, a farmer from Shindewadi in Pune district, who alleged that the tendering process, initiated in August 2023, lacked transparency. According to Lawande, the state government passed a resolution approving an annual expenditure of Rs759.56 crore for deploying 1,786 ambulances over a period of 10 years.

Lawande claimed that the original tender was floated on September 12, 2023, but its bid opening date was deferred twice. Eventually, the tender was cancelled on December 30 and reissued on January 4, 2024, with modified conditions that allegedly favoured a consortium comprising Sumeet Facilities, BVG India, and Spanish firm SSG Transporte Sanitario.

He further alleged that the tender documents were drafted by Sumeet Facilities and Pradeep Reddy, a person closely linked to the consortium, implying a conflict of interest and pre-determined outcome.

The petitioner pointed out that no efforts were made to encourage wider participation in the bidding process, resulting in the consortium being the sole bidder. He also questioned the sharp increase in capital expenditure, which rose from Rs 241.62 crore in 2014 to Rs 1,116.32 crore in the current tender, without any clear justification.

During the hearing, the state government denied any wrongdoing and clarified that SSG Transporte Sanitario had never acted as an advisor in the tender process. It said that although the firm had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the World Economic Forum at Davos in January 2023 for establishing an emergency response system similar to the 911 service in the US, no work materialised from the agreement. The government asserted that the tender was prepared by an expert committee and not influenced by any private party.

While acknowledging the issues raised, the court ultimately discharged the PIL after noting that the petitioner was affiliated with the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction).

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