Bombay HC orders inquiry into MSRDC chief engineer’s meddling in multi-crore road work tender

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the conduct of AB Gaikwad, chief engineer of the Maharashtra State Road Development

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the conduct of AB Gaikwad, chief engineer of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), for meddling in awarding a multi-crore road work tender of Yawatmal district.

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The division bench comprising justices Sunil Shukre and Avinash Gharote has directed that the enquiry should be conducted by an officer, not below the rank of secretary in national highways division of the ministry of transport, and submit a report to the court in a month.

Irked to note that Gaikwad’s interference had resulted in disqualifying an otherwise eligible lowest bidder - RK Chavan Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., and awarding the work to an ineligible bidder, M/s. GIPL-BCCPL (JV), HC cancelled the entire tender process for improvement of State Highway 317, from Chargaon in Yawatmal district to Chandrapur district border with the value of the tender fixed at ₹47.56 crore.

The notice inviting tender was published on June 29, 2019. In all three bids were received in response to the notice. On July 20, 2019, the tender evaluation committee declared that one of the bidders was technically disqualified, leaving only RK Chavan and the JV in the fray.

On August 1, 2019, the price bids were opened and after it became clear that RK Chavan was the lowest bidder, one Sumit Bajoria, a representative of GIPL-BCCPL (JV) created a scene and took away tender evaluation sheet and attendance register, because of which entire tender process was stalled. Another JV partner returned the documents to MSRDC the next day after repeated requests by the officials concerned.

The judges were annoyed to note that instead of initiating criminal action against Bajoria, the officials extended undue favours to the JV, with Gaikwad himself taking a major step of cancelling an experience certificate issued to RK Chavan by the executive engineer of MSRDC in respect of a road work completed by the contractor. On the basis of Gaikwad’s letter, RK Chavan was then held ineligible, paving the way for the erring JV to grab the contract.

RK Chavan them moved HC challenging the high-handed action of MSRDC officials.

HC expresses utter displeasure over the entire episode. “The entire situation leading to the present petition is clearly indicative of the absolutely callous and casual attitude of

the respondents and specifically the TEC (five-member tender evaluation committee), constituted for the subject tender,” said the bench.

Apart from finding that the TEC, had not at all applied its mind to the qualifying criteria, HC also found that there was no record maintained even worth the name, which could throw some light on the proceedings. “The entire conspectus of facts smacks not only of malafide but also of favouritism, indulgence, interference, which compels us to hold that entire tender process is vitiated,” said the bench while scrapping the tender process.

The judges were also annoyed with the manner in which the record of the tender was maintained.

“A perusal of the record reveals a shocking situation,” said HC. “Entire original record is a collection of loose papers comprising of various letters, evaluation sheets, communications etc. which is

neither arrayed date-wise nor is paginated,” said the bench. “The record is merely a hotchpotch of papers with no coherence and logical sequencing at all, either date-wise or for that matter in any manner whatsoever. Nothing can be ascertained from the original record.”

The court noted that the entire record did not disclose as to when the TEC met, how the evaluation was done, what was considered.