PSU says rules changed to deny it Assembly contract

Following allegations made by a public sector undertaking over “violations of the Transparency Act” in notifying tenders for the Rs 9.57-crore audio-visual and air conditioning works in the Legislative Assembly, the PWD department which has been entrusted with the project, has recalled the tender.

The department was forced to change the eligibility criteria and float another tender on Tuesday, following a memorandum submitted to the Principal Secretary, PWD and Assembly Speaker, by Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) on September 25 and 28, respectively.

R Narasimha Swamy, BECIL’s General Manager, had highlighted “discrepancies” in the terms and conditions and had charged that the tender was “doctored” so that the project could be awarded to a “chosen contractor”.

No gain

However, even the fresh tender disallows BECIL’s participation. In the modified eligibility criteria, only those companies which have “prior experience” in having executed either air-conditioning or speaker conference system can participate in the tender. The department has however deleted “Audio-Visuals” in this notification, which was specified in the first notification, now letting BECIL from participating. BECIL’s expertise is in AV integration.

 “We were very keen on taking up this project, but the eligibility criteria did not allow us to participate the first time. After BECIL highlighted the discrepancies, the department was forced to recall the tender. But it has ensured that we do not participate. The department does not want a PSU’s participation. It cannot fleece a PSU like it can a private firm. BECIL does not see any point in pursuing this project anymore,” said Swamy, when contacted by Deccan Herald.

On September 5, PWD published the notification for the works. Two companies - SRP Enviro Systems Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad and New Karnataka Electricals, Bangalore, participated in the bid. However, works were not awarded to either, as the companies “failed to fulfill the tender conditions”, according to department officials.

The department which had not even bothered to hold a pre-bid meeting after floating the first tender, however, has rectified this error after BECIL’s objections.

As per the new notification, the pre-bid meeting is slated to be held on October 17. The tender is said to be awarded on October 22.