Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: Only 15 per cent of tenders floated by the Siddaramaiah administration to carry out various public works have been awarded, an alarming figure that points to tardiness and indicates that developmental spending has taken a beating.
Since 2023, when the Congress came to power, the government has floated 2.95 lakh tenders worth Rs 1.26 lakh crore. Of them, only 46,033 have been awarded to contractors or service providers, according to the latest data from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Karnataka Progress Portal.
The remaining are either under evaluation, have been retendered, recalled, suspended or closed.
Any public work costing above Rs 5 lakh should be tendered, according to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act.
The municipal administration department is the largest procuring entity having floated 66,487 tenders worth Rs 11,559 crore. Just 19 per cent of them have been awarded. The forest department comes second with 41,322 tenders (valued Rs 3,734 crore) of which 3 per cent have been awarded. The rural development & panchayat raj (RDPR) department has 33,842 tenders (Rs 5,406 crore) of which 17 per cent have been awarded.
RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge said the government's procurement data, which he described as "quite alarming" needed a deep dive to understand the delay in awarding tenders.
"It depends on the nature of the tender. Small works tend to go around in circles due to objections raised at various levels. Big tenders face delays due to issues such as submission of false document by bidders. There is also a tender processing committee that contributes to the delay," Priyank, also a government spokesperson, explained.
The opposition BJP has been attacking the Congress government for neglecting developmental works due to the five 'guarantee' schemes.
"The huge gap between tenders floated and awarded means the government doesn't have enough money and shows inefficiency," former deputy chief minister C N Ashwath Narayan said. "Delay in tenders means service delivery won't happen, leading to deterioration in the way things are," he said.
It is also possible that pending bills worth Rs 32,000 crore are forcing the government to go slow on new works.
Public finance expert Madhusudhan B V Rao pointed out that the political system "deliberately" creates delays in tenders. "In fact, systems like e-procurement and first-in-first-out payments were introduced expressly to streamline things," he said. "The system can be fixed only if there is political will."