Cuttack Municipal Corporation 'delays' tender finalisation

CUTTACK: The move to streamline manpower engagement through outsourcing agencies by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) seems to have hit a roadblock allegedly due to internal machinations by vested interests.

As per reports, CMC had floated a tender for empanelment of registered firms/agencies for providing manpower service on March 2. This came after a report was published in The New Indian Express on February 12 exposing the gross irregularities committed by the civic body in staff engagement for municipal works through outsourcing flouting all government norms. 

The CMC has been allegedly showing undue favour to two outsourcing agencies without following the mandatory tender process since 2016.

As per norms, the CMC was required to invite quotations from outsourcing agencies for engagement of manpower through open tender process. The allotment of work to the selected agency was to be done in a transparent manner while adhering to guidelines set by the government. CMC had paid Rs 9.71 crore to the two agencies in 2019-20. While one of them was paid Rs 5.56 crore, the other got Rs 4.15 crore.

What makes the situation worse is that the civic body’s establishment section has no information on the staff including sanitary workers, sweepers, motor pump operators, clerks and computer operators provided by these agencies. It is alleged that more workers than required have been engaged for the benefit of the agencies. The workers are not even being given mandatory benefits like EPF and ESI by the agencies. 

It is further alleged that one of the agencies is owned by a relative of a CMC employee. Though a file for floating tender for engaging outsourcing agencies was created in 2019, the same was yet to be processed due to red tape till publication of the news in this regard in The New Indian Express. 

After publication of the news, the civic body officials floated tender inviting bids from reputed, experienced and financially sound manpower supply companies and agencies for providing highly skilled, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers for carrying out various day-to-day activities of the civic body for 2021-2022.

While the last date for bid was March 17, the opening of the technical bid was on March 18 and the financial bid on March 25. Sources said, though the technical bid was opened, the financial bid is yet to be opened.

​If sources are to be believed, some officials are intentionally delaying in finalising the tender to favour the same outsourcing agencies. CMC Commissioner Ananya Das, however, was not available to comment on the issue.