CWG DG in the dock for tweaking TSR bid process

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee's director general (DG) VK Verma had allegedly played a key role in tweaking the tendering process related to the Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) system contract.

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee's director general (DG) VK Verma had allegedly played a key role in tweaking the tendering process related to the Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) system contract.

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This was found out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), that is probing alleged irregularities into the award of the TSR contract to a Swiss firm (Swiss Timing-Omega), according to a CBI source.

According to the CBI, a few accused officials - including Verma - had allegedly deliberately disqualified a rival bidder (Spain's MSL Software) that had quoted a cost of R48 crore.

"The OC, at the behest of VK Verma, had inserted a critical change in the specifications it had issued to select a vendor for providing TSR functions for Commonwealth Games. He did that on October 4, 2009, three days after the bid had been offered," said the source.

According to him, Verma had allegedly struck out the word "or" from the OC specification that originally read: "The bidder should have the experience of operating Timing and Scoring equipment and/or delivered local results systems in any of the previous Olympics, Asian or Commonwealth Games in the past five years."

Verma allegedly did this "without the approval of the OC's finance committee," he said. The source said, "This was done to prepare the ground for disqualifying eliminating MSL."

Meanwhile, according to an official of the Swiss firm, the CBI is yet to quiz its officials. "...no one from the CBI has interviewed anyone at Swiss Timing in Switzerland," said Serena Chiesura, head of the firm's corporate communications.