The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Tuesday accused French consultancy firm Systra of "misrepresenting facts" to the French government after receiving suspension and termination of contract notices, calling it "an attempt to deflect attention from contractual breaches". In a late-evening statement, MMRDA, a state planning and development agency, dismissed media reports about corruption allegations levelled by Systra as "biased and unverified." Systra had never submitted any formal representation to relevant authorities, including the chief minister of Maharashtra, before the notices were issued, it claimed. "Notably, no such allegations were ever raised before any official forum prior to these notices," MMRDA stated, adding that the allegations of graft were made only after MMRDA issued suspension and termination notices. "This clearly indicates that the allegations are an afterthought aimed at deflecting attention from their own contractual breaches," .