The Hindu 19.02.2010
Corporation plans to buy road sweeping machines
Special Correspondent
| Some councillors sore over rejection of local firm’s bids |
Photo: S. Siva Saravanan
MAKING THINGS CLEAR: Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra (right) explains conditions relating to submission of tenders at the Council meeting held on Thursday. Mayor R. Venkatachalam (second right) is in the picture. —
COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation plans to buy vehicle mounted sweeping machines to remove garbage and mud that accumulate on roads. This is part of the Rs.96-crore Integrated Solid Waste Management Programme being implemented by the civic body.
Apart from garbage removal, the Corporation wants to provide safety on roads by removing the mud that topples two-wheeler riders.
The resolution to approve this proposal, however, ran into some resistance from a section of the councillors at the Corporation Council’s meeting on Thursday. The opposition was on rejecting the bid of a Coimbatore-based company. The other bidders were companies from Pune and New Delhi.
When councillors pointed out that only a local company could provide good after sales service, Commissioner Anshul Mishra explained that the local firm’s bid was rejected as it had violated tender conditions.
One of the conditions was that the sweeper equipment should be an imported one and it could be mounted on the chasis of an Indian vehicle. The other condition was that companies that were either manufacturers or authorised dealers could submit tenders.
The Coimbatore-based company first submitted bids as the dealer in India of a mechanised sweeper made in Australia. Later, the firm submitted a letter stating that it would manufacture the equipment here itself. This amounted to violation of the tender condition and therefore the company’s bids were rejected.
Leader of the Opposition V.N. Udayakumar, Congress Floor Leader R.S. Thirumugham and Congress member V.K.S.K. Senthilkumar were among those who demanded that the local company could be allowed to provide the equipment.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) member C. Padmanabhan was in favour of inviting fresh bids. The Commissioner said he was not in favour of this as re-tender meant wasting precious public funds. “It will be against public interest,” the Commissioner said.
When the pressure for deferring the resolution on the proposal mounted, the Commissioner told the councillors: “Do not defer the resolution. Either accept it or reject it.” He pointed out that already time and money had been wasted on inviting bids for a second time.
When the councillors appeared to opt for rejection, the Commissioner said he would refer the proposal to the Government for its decision. Mr. Mishra also pointed out that the Coimbatore company could be even blacklisted for having violated the tender conditions. That put a stop to the discussion on this issue.
After the other resolutions were approved, Mr. Udayakumar rose for the customary concluding remarks. In a marked reversal of the earlier stand, he said the resolution on the sweepers could be approved this time.
He also said there should not be an impression that the councillors who spoke on this issue were instigated to do so by the company. Mr. Padmanabhan, however, stuck to his demand for fresh tenders. Finally, Mr. Thirumugham formally announced that the proposal was approved by the Council.
