E-Paper
AAP alleges irregularities in tender floated by medical education dept
The department claims to appoint a service provider and is appointing a consultant. The process followed is wrong and details of the tenders should not be sent in advance to the bidding service providers, says Vijay Kumbhar, state unit vice-president AAP
The appointment of a project management consultant to select a public sector unit to provide mechanised cleaning services at medical colleges and hospitals has drawn criticism from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The medical education department on Wednesday (January 31) wrote to nine service providers inviting expression of interest (EOI) for selection of central government unit for providing mechanised cleaning services at medical, ayurvedic, dental and homeopathy colleges and associated hospitals.
The service providers if interested have been requested to submit the offer with all documents before February 7, 2024, it read.
The medical education department in the letter also stated, “Administrative approval of ₹176.25 crore has been accorded to the work in December 2023 and a general resolution for the same was issued.”
However, the letter lacks clarity as it states to execute the work through central government unit as a project management consultant.
Vijay Kumbhar, state unit vice-president AAP, alleged, the medical education department is going to appoint a consultant to appoint a service-providing unit for mechanical cleaning, then what is the need to appoint a project management consultant to appoint a service provider.
“The department claims to appoint a service provider and is appointing a consultant. The process followed is wrong and details of the tenders should not be sent in advance to the bidding service providers,” alleged, Kumbhar.
Kumbhar, further, said, that a tender is floated to get the best service at the lowest price but the department has limited the fair competition by including the condition of central government unit.
“The amount for the cleaning work tender is calculated by ₹84 per square meter which is inflated. At the local level, the service providers provide the same service at ₹4 to ₹6 per square metre. The same work which costs around ₹ 20 to ₹ 30 crore per year currently will cost ₹ 176 crores. The letter is directed to these nine units with a hidden agenda,” claimed, Kumbhar.
Dinesh Waghmare, principal secretary of medical education department, said, the medical colleges and hospitals currently are not clean enough if we compare it with the private healthcare institutes.
“The private hospitals do cleaning mechanically and we want to make the government hospitals spotless by starting mechanical cleaning. The cost for the work is more, as it is mechanical cleaning and includes the open areas, toilets, constructed areas and even open areas. The entire campus of medical colleges, hospitals and hostels will be covered,” he said.
