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Ludhiana: ₹64-crore road projects stalled amid plaints; re-tendering soon
Officials said the delays stemmed from a “complaint war” among contractors, with rival firms questioning each other’s eligibility, bid capacity and experience credentials
Road development projects worth around ₹64 crore in Ludhiana have run into procedural delays after a series of complaints and counter-complaints by contractors over the tendering process, prompting the municipal corporation (MC) to initiate corrective steps.
The civic body had accorded technical approval to 19 major road projects across various constituencies and zones, with an estimated cost of ₹126.63 crore, based on the minutes of the chief engineers’ committee. While tenders for 10 projects have already been floated, the remaining 10 projects, valued at about ₹64 crore, are currently on hold due to objections raised by bidders.
According to MC records, the affected works include upgrade of bitumen main roads in the North constituency ( ₹7.83 crore), upgrade of roads with ready mix concrete (RMC) in Zone-A North ( ₹9.53 crore), in Guru Har Rai Nagar and Nagesh Hosiery Road near Jalandhar Bypass ( ₹6.20 crore), RMC roads in Bharti Colony and Akash Nagar ( ₹6.31 crore), and upgrade of roads in various wards of the Central constituency ( ₹6.48 crore). Projects in Atam Nagar, South constituency and Sahnewal are also among those affected.
Officials said the delays stemmed from a “complaint war” among contractors, with rival firms questioning each other’s eligibility, bid capacity and experience credentials. Several contractors have alleged that some bidders do not meet the required financial and technical criteria, and have sought strict verification of documents submitted during the tender process.
One of the contractors — M/s Somaya Infrastructures — has served a legal notice on the MC, alleging violation of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines, lack of transparency and biased evaluation. The firm has questioned discrepancies in the tender timeline and alleged that eligibility conditions were misinterpreted to declare it ineligible.
Civic officials, however, maintained that the MC was proceeding cautiously to ensure fairness and compliance with rules.
Superintending engineer Sham Lal Gupta said, “The matter is already under the knowledge of the department. Each and every step will be taken strictly as per the bylaws and established procedures.”
A senior MC official said a 13-member committee has been already constituted to examine all complaints in detail. “After due scrutiny, all 10 pending projects will be re-tendered to ensure transparency and avoid future disputes,” the official added.
The official further said that document verification, including bid capacity and experience certificates, would be carried out thoroughly to restore confidence in the process. “The aim is to ensure that only eligible contractors with sufficient capacity are awarded works,” he said.
MC authorities expressed confidence that the issues would be resolved soon. Once re-tendering is completed, the pending projects will be taken up on priority to ensure timely utilisation of funds sanctioned under the special assistance programme, officials added.
