HC rejects objections to solid waste company’s tender rules

The high court has dismissed a batch of petitions filed by contractors challenging certain conditions in the tender called by the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Company (BSWMC).

Dismissing the petitions filed by seven contractors, Justice M Nagaprasanna has said that none of the conditions are found to be arbitrary or unreasonable to warrant the interference of the court.

The court also noted that while on one hand seven prospective tenderers seek to challenge the conditions, on the other, 90 per cent of the tenderers are in acceptance of the conditions.

The petitioners had challenged the tender notification, in the form of Request for Proposal dated September 28, 2022, and an addendum dated October 18, 2022. Of the conditions challenged in the tender notification, the petitioners questioned the decision to restrict a successful bidder to one package.

The company defended the move and said that in the past many tenderers had emerged as successful bidders in more than 5, 10 or 15 packages, which led to poor performance of their work.

The court observed that the conditions of tender are the prerogative of the tender-inviting authority unless those conditions are arbitrary, whimsical, or made to suit any particular tenderer.

“It is, therefore, for every tenderer to get adequate opportunity and accountability in keeping the package ward clean, the package is restricted to one, merits acceptance. It is also to be noticed that in the earlier tenders, the segregation of wet waste or dry waste and its regulation was not as pronounced as is in the present tender.

“Therefore, the package being restricted to one cannot be found fault with, as this court would not get into ground realities of execution of a contract or conditions stipulated in the tender document for execution of such contract,” the court said.

As regards to the challenge to the other condition that the vehicles must be of BS-VI compatibility, the court said it is to ensure that vehicles do not generate pollution.

“If any methodology that would be required with the object of checking pollution in the city, such methodology is a welcome addition in any tender document. Keeping the milieu clean, be it by managing solid waste or checking pollution of any city, is the paramount objective of an Urban Local Body, the BBMP in the case at hand,” the court said.