Candidates Demand Inquiry Into MMRDA Recruitment Exam Over Score Discrepancies
Candidates who appeared for recruitment examinations across Maharashtra have demanded an independent inquiry into the provisional merit list of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) recruitment exam for 82 junior engineer posts, after discovering that 13 of the top 20 scorers took the test at the same examination centre in Nagpur on May 12.
The junior engineer examination was conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) between May 11 and 12 across centres in eight districts of Maharashtra. MMRDA received 14,714 applications for the 82 vacancies.
Candidates raised concerns after comparing results from different government recruitment tests, noting steep discrepancies in marks. Prasad Jadhav, a representative of the Engineers' Association and a candidate from Pune, highlighted that a candidate who scored 194 out of 200 marks in the MMRDA exam had secured only 7.5 marks out of 100 in another examination. Another candidate scored 192 out of 200 in the MMRDA exam but only 15 marks in the BMC exam.
The Engineers' Association has written to the MMRDA metropolitan commissioner seeking CCTV footage of high-scoring candidates, response sheets, audit log reports showing answering patterns and timing, and independent verification of the selected candidates' identities and qualifications.
Political leaders have also called for action. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Dhananjay Shinde requested an independent and court-monitored Special Investigation Team inquiry. Member of Parliament Supriya Sule demanded on social media that the recruitment process be cancelled and investigated under High Court supervision if irregularities are confirmed.
MMRDA rejected all allegations of malpractice, stating that the recruitment process strictly adhered to government rules. The authority noted that TCS was appointed under a state government resolution and that 340 objections received between May 19 and May 23 were processed by June 12. MMRDA stated that verification of the provisional merit list is currently underway before the final merit list is released.
