The Times of India          06.10.2010

MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) finally resumed the process of appointing a consultant to oversee the setting up of the garbage treatment plant at Sonsoddo.

A pre-bid meeting of interested parties who had responded to the civic body's request for proposal (RFP) for the consultancy was held on Monday.

However, though four parties had evinced interest in bidding for the consultancy, a representative of only one among them, Ahmedabad-based Urban management consultants (UMC), was present for the meeting chaired by MMC chief officer Prasanna Acharya. Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd, Aecom India Pvt Ltd, and Senes Consultants India Pvt Ltd, are the other three in the reckoning for the consultancy.

Interestingly, only UMC had submitted its queries over MMC's RFP until October 1, the last date set for the purpose, sources said. Acharya told TOI that the queries raised by UMC were deliberated in the meeting and relevant suggestions put forth by the firm were incorporated in the RFP. "Following the deliberations, the RFP was customized to suit the requirements of the MMC. The revised version of the RFP will be sent to all the four interested parties to enable them to participate in the bidding process with more clarity. We would like to ensure transparency in the entire process," Acharya said.

The last date for submission of the RFPs is October 11. Sources said that though the technical bids will be opened by the MMC on the same day, they will be placed before a high-powered committee headed by the CM for the final evaluation and eventual appointment of consultant.