HC quashes tender for garbage tipper autos

The Karnataka High Court quashed a short-term tender invited by the BBMP for procurement of 565 auto tippers for door-to-door collection of garbage in the city.

Justice Aravind Kumar quashed the tender and partly allowed the petition filed by Chamundi Motors, which had moved the court challenging that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was not transparent in its process of calling tenders.

The court quashed the tender on the ground that it was not issued in accordance with the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act as it was invited for a short period of 30 days unlike 60 days as required while issuing a
general tender as prescribed by the Act.

The court also observed that the other required conditions for issuing tenders have not been interfered with.

The BBMP, in January 2018, had called for tenders to purchase auto tippers at a cost Rs 36 crore. While scrapping the tender, the court stated that the BBMP should recall the tender and invite a fresh one in accordance with the KTPP Act.

The petitioner has contended that the period issued by the BBMP for procuring tenders is very short. Following this, the court also reserved the liberty to the BBMP commissioner or a competent officer to proceed in the matter and act afresh in accordance with the law.

The court also orally observed that collecting garbage in a city like Bengaluru is not a small task and that it is a matter of serious concern.