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Pune civic body issues legal notice to Ecoman over bid rigging
PMC issued the notice to the Ecoman Enviro Solutions Pvt Ltd and pointed out how they had violated the contract with PMC and asked the latter as to why they should not end the contract between the two.
After Competition Commission of India imposed fine on the contractors for rigging the bid over five thermal composting plants , the Pune Municipal Corporation has issued legal notice to the Ecoman Enviro Soultions Pvt Ltd to discontinue its service with the civic body.
PMC issued the notice to the Ecoman Enviro Solutions Pvt Ltd and pointed out how they had violated the contract with PMC and asked the latter as to why they should not end the contract between the two.
Suresh Jagtap, head, solid waste management department, PMC said, “The PMC has issued the final notice to the contractor on July 21st and has asked for clarifications. After getting the clarifications from the company, PMC will end the legal contract with them and will hand over five thermal composting plants for another agency for proper operation and maintenance.”
The nexus between PMC officials and contractors for rigging the bids was exposed in detail by Hindustan Times in a series of reports in October 2017.
The CCI in its final order has imposed a fine of ₹3.57 crores on six firms for colluding with PMC and undertaking bid rigging while filing tenders for thermal composting garbage plants in 2014. The CCI conducted an enquiry on the basis of a complaint from Nagrik Chetna Manch, an NGO of alert citizen-activists. Hindustan Times reported in detail the nexus citing how the contractors and officers had telephonic conversations on multiple occasions and how the tender documents were uploaded from a computer belonging to the Pune municipal corporation.
The tenders pertained to the five thermal composting plants at various locations including Kharadi, Ghole Patil road and Peshwe Park, and were worth ₹14 crore. In their order issued on Tuesday, the Commission observed that various individuals including proprietor, partner and director of the firms coordinated to “rig the tenders by way of submitting proxy/cover bids.”
