Barred contractors make a comeback

GHMC has penalised 42 contractors, of which 6 blacklisted

If you’re wondering why civic work is so poor and shoddy, here is the answer. Thirtysix civil contractors, who were barred from doing any work for the municipal corporation have managed to weasel their way back into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) tendering process.

These contractors had been barred for delaying work, forging signatures, producing inflated bills and the like. They ought to be barred for life for cheating the public in this manner, but they are barred for only two years and then it’s back to business as usual.

The GHMC has so far penalised 42 contractors, out of them six have been blacklisted (taking away the opportunity to participate in any tender process) for a lifetime, while the 36 contractors that have been barred (punishment given for one or two years, after which they can re- bid).

Contractors on the black list sneak back as they are registered with another parent state agency. To blacklist them, the GHMC has to write to the parent agency and the principle secretary of the government of Telangana.

Most of the contractors were barred between 2014 and 2016. The scams they perpetrated were identified in road engineering, desilting of nalas, solid waste transportation and vehicle maintenance.

Not surprisingly, a large number of contractors who bagged, projects in the GHMC, are henchmen of politicians. Corporators, our ‘elected representatives’ put pressure on GHMC officers to award the contracts to their favourites.

In some cases, the blacklisted contractors use fake names to win the contracts.

A senior officer from the project department said, “Once the debarred period is over, contractors can participate in the bids and can be chosen again for projects. But since these companies come with a tainted image, the GHMC will take precaution while reselecting them.”