E-tenders to push corruption out

In a bid to curb corruption and introduce transparency in the purchases and work orders issued, the state government has made it mandatory for all tenders to be issued online.

In a bid to curb corruption and introduce transparency in the purchases and work orders issued, the state government has made it mandatory for all tenders to be issued online.

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Work orders worth more than Rs 2 crore will be issued through e-tendering from October 1 and those more than Rs 50 lakh from December 1.

"All agencies will need to get their tenders done online. This will be a one-window system and if all documents are available, it will take less than 10 minutes. The first three tenders have already been floated through the process,” said Secretary, Information Technology, Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

Often, there are complaints regarding tweaking of tender documents to suit a particular agency and there is no accountability. Hindustan Times recently reported the case of the civic body giving a Rs 173-crore project for the construction of five underground parking lots between Hutatma Chowk and Regal Cinema to the firm run by the son-in-law of a senior Shiv Sena leader.

SIFY is providing software support and will be responsible for managing the process, said Pandey. "All tenders are encrypted and will be not accessible to anyone. There will be no information on competitors," a SIFY representative said.

He said the process includes setting up a vendor base, opening envelopes, comparison of bids and initiating awarding of the contract — all online.

Every applicant will pay Rs 882 to fill a tender, which will go to the company, Pandey explained. "The government is not paying for the system to be set up. But in case we face problems, there is a penalty clause which will be invoked," he added.

"I don't know how many tenders are issued but we have been assured the traffic can be taken care of and the company officials will help departments and provide a helpline ," Pandey said.