Starting woes for Red Fort ERS

Even before the formalities to award the contract for installing Emergency Response System (ERS) at the Red Fort are over, three companies have written to the CVC complaining malpractice in the tendering process. Nivedita Khandekar reports.

Even before the formalities to award the contract for installing Emergency Response System (ERS) at the Red Fort are over, three companies have written to the CVC complaining malpractice in the tendering process.

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The firms have written to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) mainly about two things - nomenclature and the earnest money deposit (EMD) -in what they claim to be a faulty tendering process being carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Pointing at the criterion of pre-qualification for the work's name, Alok Kumar Verma of Bharat Radio Centre, Bosch dealer in India, said: "They (ASI) could have called it access control or surveillance system ... They are deliberately using a dubious terminology of ERS."

Another complainant Rohit Bhatnagar, director of Pragati Engineers, in his letter to the CVC, has pointed at "vested interest" of ASI officials.

"CCTV will not cost more than R2 crore, but the EMD required is R75 lakh, and (the required company) turnover is R100 crore. This violates the law and is specifically designed for some firms with which ASI engineers having vested interest," he alleged. The EMD is usually up to 2% of the total cost.

ASI spokesperson BR Mani confirmed that they received complaints from three companies, but said there was nothing wrong in the process.

"We have replied to all their queries," Mani said.