The Indian Express 10.09.2013
Under duress, BMC allows 50% manual tender system for civil works
CWCs pertain to petty works (not more than Rs 5 lakh) like minor road construction and de-silting at the ward-level. Corporators using their individual development fund (Rs 60 lakh each) and the ward committee fund (Rs 40 lakh) sanction these contracts.
Last year, to bring transparency to a system said to be mired in corruption, Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte mandated the e-tendering system. However, corporators opposed it saying technical glitches in the system were causing delays in the tendering process.
In June, corporators unanimously voted against the e-tendering system. This was followed by a letters from Mayor Sunil Prabhu to the civic administration demanding the same.
Kunte said, "We were keen to keep the e-tendering system but when the entire body of elected representatives passes a resolution demanding otherwise, we cannot ignore it." Kunte had until last month refused to give in to the "way of contractors".
A civic official said, "We have allowed the earlier method of manual tendering for 50 per cent of the works. This is not restricted to any particular type of works. It should considerably speed up the process of clearing the backlog."
However, corporators are still not happy. Sheetal Mhatre, a standing committee member and a Congress corporator, had last week reiterated the demand for scrapping the system to the standing committee. "Why has the BMC allowed this system? The e-tendering system must be completely stopped as it was a total failure last year. We should go back to the old system," Mhatre said.
Standing Committee chairman Rahul Shewale agreed to the demand. "Wherever the e-tendering system fails to get the expected response from contractors, the BMC must make sure that an alternative system is in place," he said.
In 2012, chief accountant Ram Dhas had written to the civic chief and additional municipal commissioners about malpractice in the old CWC tendering system.
