MCG to favour PSUs for tenders; check corruption, ensure quality of work

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has decided to increase the allocation of tenders to public sector undertakings (PSUs) to check corrupt practices and

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has decided to increase the allocation of tenders to public sector undertakings (PSUs) to check corrupt practices and ensure good quality materials are used, officials said on Friday.

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MCG officials said that the change in policy was brought upon by the fact that bids for projects were being made by private contractors at costs 40-50% lower than their projections. Officials said this is compromising the quality of materials adversely, while recently, there have also been instances of officials colluding with private companies.

“In nearly all our tenders, private companies were bidding at nearly half the price of the projected cost. We realised that these companies were excessively cutting costs to meet the bid price due to which quality of materials was taking a major hit. In addition, some of the private contractors are also facing inquiry for colluding with MCG officials. To put an end to all this, we have decided to increase the involvement of PSUs in getting the work done,” a senior MCG official in the engineering wing said, on the condition of anonymity.

The MCG has already implemented the change in its tendering process for projects of its horticulture wing. The bidding criteria, such as experience, manpower and machinery, have been set in such a manner that only PSUs or large-scale private companies can meet the requirements, the official said.

Work is also underway to ensure the change in approach to the tender allotment is adopted by all wings, the official said.

Quality of materials has been under the MCG’s scanner recently. Earlier this month, MCG officials discovered that a tender for establishing open-air gyms in various public parks of Ward 29 was awarded at one-thirds the projected cost, leading to officials directing the vigilance wing to check the quality of work executed and accordingly, take action on the matter.

MCG had floated a tender for ₹50 lakh for providing open-air gyms in Ward 29 and a contractor, who had bid ₹17 lakh, the lowest, was awarded the contract.

In addition, two cases of collusion with private contractors have also been disclosed recently.

On February 10, the MCG’s vigilance wing received a complaint that ₹1.67 crore, the total project cost for constructing a two-kilometre road in Bajgehra had already been paid to the private contractor, even though work had not started.

As per the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, payment in any form can be made to a contractor only after the project is completed.

In a similar instance last December, the MCG had blacklisted a contractor, suspended a junior engineer and served show-cause notices to three officials of the engineering wing, after it was discovered that a payment of ₹35.35 lakh, the total project cost for constructing a 1.7-kilometre-long green belt and a footpath between Khushboo Chowk and Bristol Chowk along the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, had already made to the contractor in October, despite materials and work to the tune of ₹11 lakh had been carried out.

“We are not closing the bids for private entities entirely, but are looking at increasing the participation of PSUs to increase competition in the tender process. We hope, in return, this will yield better results than before and improve the overall scope of work,” said Vinay Pratap Singh, MCG commissioner.