Chandrapur: The decision of BJP-ruled Chandrapur Municipal Corporation (CMC) to scrap entire tender process for garbage collection contract citing that the lowest bidder has quoted far too less than the base rate by the civic body and later awarding the contract to the same bidder at higher rate has provided fresh ammunition to the opposition Congress.
City Congress president and corporator Ramu Tiwari has alleged corruption in awarding the contract, whereas mayor Rakhi Kancharlawar termed the charges as baseless.
One M/s Swayambhu Transport, Pune, has been allotted the work of garbage lifting at the rate of Rs2,552 per tonne. Interestingly, the same company was among the 3-4 companies that had bid in the earlier tender. In the previous tender, M/s Swayambhu Transport’s bid — Rs1,700 per tonne for door-to-door garbage lifting, its transportation to compost depot and transportation of garbage after cleaning of drains — was termed as less than the base rate of Rs2,300 fixed by the CMC. The civic body had scrapped the entire tender process and re-invited bids.
In the second tender, M/s Swayambhu Transport quoted Rs2,552 per tonne and the CMC found it to be the lowest and hence awarded the company the contract.
Tiwari, in a press conference on Tuesday, charged the mayor and standing committee of making underhand deal to award the tender at Rs800 higher rate. He claimed that the tender process lacks transparency and demanded thorough inquiry.
Kancharlawar and standing committee chairman Rahul Pawde too held a press conference on Tuesday and explained that the earlier tender process was cancelled as the lowest bidder had quoted Rs1,700 per tonne, which was less than the base rate of Rs2,300 per tonne calculated by the CMC.
Pawde said the earlier rates were not viable and the contract workers of the company would not have got the minimum wages. The new contractor has agreed to accommodate all 325 contract sanitary workers of the previous company on the same work and ensure mechanized lifting and transportation of garbage.
Kancharlawar claimed that the decision was taken in consultation with all members of the standing committee, including those from the opposition. The matter was presented before the general body and it was approved without any opposition. The mayor also claimed that she had not received any formal complaint from any corporator over the issue.