Tender for open-air gym awarded to bidder that quoted one-third cost; probe launched

After discovering that a tender for establishing open-air gyms in various public parks in Ward 29 was awarded at one-third of the projected cost, the Municipal Corporation

After discovering that a tender for establishing open-air gyms in various public parks in Ward 29 was awarded at one-third of the projected cost, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has directed its vigilance wing to check quality of the work executed and accordingly take action on the matter, said MCG officials on Wednesday.

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Ward 29 includes sectors 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 57, and 62. As per officials, in December last year, the MCG had floated a tender for ₹50 lakh for providing open-air gyms in Ward 29. An open-air gym has a variety of exercise equipment, such as air swings, elliptical exercise machine, air walker, rowing machine, chest and leg press machines. Seven contractors made bids based on the tender floated.

The contractor that had bid the lowest amount, ₹17 lakh, for getting the work done, was awarded the tender by officials of the MCG’s horticulture wing.

MCG officials said that Kuldeep Yadav, councillor of Ward 29, alerted MCG commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh about the alleged irregularities, following which Singh had directed the vigilance wing to look into the matter.

“The MCG wants to provide the best services possible to the residents of Gurugram. As such, any complaints or act undertaken opposed to this is taken seriously. Hence, I have directed the vigilance wing to probe into the matter and check if the quality in the materials were compromised and take the next step of action as per the law,” said Singh.

MCG had formulated its vigilance wing last month on January 8 to deal with complaints registered with the CM window, PM grievances portal, Lokayukta inquiries, matters pertaining to state vigilance bureau and other inquiries marked by the Haryana government while also checking the quality of ongoing construction projects.

In April 2018, the first open-air gym was inaugurated at a park in Sector 22. Since then, MCG officials said that over 60 such facilities have been provided in parks across the city.

Officials said that depending on the size of a park and the space available to place gym equipment, it costs around ₹1.5 lakh-₹2.5 lakh to construct an open-air gym.

“With a budget of ₹50 lakh, around 20 parks in Ward 29 would have been equipped with open-air gym. In ₹17 lakh, even after placing only the basic equipment, the contractor would have been able to add the service to only 8-10 parks. Hence, officials found that something was amiss and asked the vigilance wing to look into the matter. The only way the contractor could have met the target was if he severely compromised on the quality of the equipment,” said a senior MCG official, privy to the matter.