PWD tenders allotted during Congress regime under lens

CHANDIGARH: Allegations of manipulation in allotment of public works department (PWD) tenders during the previous Congress regime have come under lens of the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with the department now seeking details of tenders allotted in the past one year.

In an internal communication sent to field officers last week, principal secretary, PWD, Anurag Verma, sought details of tenders, worth more than Rs 5 crore, allotted in the past year, including a comparison of the price at which it was allotted and the technically sanctioned estimate.

The move comes following complaints that certain tenders were allotted at rates which increased the cost of the contractors and reduced the savings, which would have gone to the government treasury.

“Tenders, which were earlier being allotted at 15-20% below the actual cost of tender, were allotted at less than 1% below the tender rate fixed during the Congress regime,” a complainant alleged. They added that this collusion between contractors and senior officials of the department resulted in reduction of government savings.

Explaining this, a senior official said, “In plain words, if the rate of tender is fixed at Rs 100, it is normally allotted for Rs 80-85 after competitive bidding. The difference would go as the saving of the government. However, in allotments in contention during the previous government, the tenders were allotted in a way that the government savings were reduced to just Rs 2-3.”

The complaints alleged that the manipulation was done by taking contractors into confidence. The new dispensation, it is learnt, got a report regarding a Rs 100-crore tender for a road project related to Smart City Kapurthala in October last year which was opened at full rates.

However, after the matter was highlighted by some officials of the department, re-tendering was done and it was allotted for Rs 80 crore, thus saving Rs 20 crore for the government.

During the previous regime as well, a complaint on bungling during allotment of tenders was filed by a resident of Pathankot with the Punjab governor.

The complaint was forwarded by the officer of Governor to General Administrative Department (GAD) for probe. However, when the matter reached the PWD department and it asked the complainant to give an affidavit for the same, the complainant replied that his letter pad was used by someone to file the complaint. Probe in this matter is still underway, it is learnt.

A senior functionary of the PWD department admitted that data collection is underway from field officers to ascertain any wrongdoing in the tendering.

If the rate of tender is fixed at ₹100, it is normally allotted for ₹80-85. But during the previous govt, tenders were allotted in a way that govt savings were reduced to ₹2-3. AN OFFICIAL,