E-Paper
KMC starts work without floating tender
THE KANPUR Municipal Corporation (KMC), it seems, is in the habit of carrying out work without floating tender for it, and gets the work inaugurated by some VIPs. Besides, in some cases, the work was launched by the KMC, and the tender for it was floated later.
THE KANPUR Municipal Corporation (KMC), it seems, is in the habit of carrying out work without floating tender for it, and gets the work inaugurated by some VIPs. Besides, in some cases, the work was launched by the KMC, and the tender for it was floated later.
The latest in the series is the construction of a new gate with railings and sprucing up of the KMC building. The gate will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on May 7. The gate was named after Major Salman who attained martyrdom in Jammu and Kashmir a year ago. May 7 happens to be Major Salman’s first death anniversary.
According to KMC sources, the renovation and construction of the gate started during the regime of municipal commissioner Arvind Singh who was later suspended. According to sources, the work began without any tender being floated, and a particular contractor took the responsibility to construct the gate.
After much hue and cry was raised, according to the KMC officials, the KMC administration floated a tender as a formality and a cover-up exercise.
The contractor remained the same and continued with the work. However, contractors opined that no tender was floated.
According to another KMC source, in order to save themselves, the officials brought the leftover work under the DCU process to cover up their misdeeds by checking the procedural lapse. According to KMC sources, the total cost estimated for the work is Rs 7.56 lakh. Out of which contractor’s share of work had been estimated at about Rs 3.90 lakh and the rest of the work was being carried out through the DCU process.
This is not for the first time that the Kanpur Municipal Corporation got the work in this way. Similarly, the work of installing Ashoka Pillar, inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Sri Prakash Jaiswal on November 26, 2005, was carried out without floating any tender.
To add to it interlocking tiles near the residence of the former Mayor Anil Sharma was carried out without floating any tender.
As a cover-up exercise a futile attempt was made to float tenders for the same on April 21. But, the same could not be done following reports being published in several newspapers. The KMC administrator and district magistrate had also sought reports in this regard.
When contacted Additional Municipal Commissioner I Captain R Vikkram Singh said that prima-facie there was nothing objectionable in the matter.
However, owing to several complaints in this regard, the payment of the contractor was stopped. Any payment would be made only after verifying the quality of the work done by the contractor, the AMC-I added.
