Committee directs termination of Town Hall tender

Following a considerable delay in completion of renovation of the Town Hall and works on basement parking, the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) will soon initiate measures to terminate the tender agreement with the contractors.

At a meeting of the Town Hall Committee of the MCC, the members pulled up the officials for not taking measures against the contractor Chabra Associates. President of the committee, Channappa directed the MCC commissioner to inspect the works within a week and terminate the tender within 23 days.

Chabra Associates, a Secunderabad-based firm, was awarded the tender for development of the Town Hall premises and basement parking facility, under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) on April 29, 2011, at an estimated cost of Rs 18.28 crore.

According to the terms of the agreement, the contractor had to complete the works within a span of one year. However, even after three years, the works are far from complete, Vasu, Assistant Executive Engineer, JnNURM revealed.

A separate tender, for an estimated cost of Rs 2.8 crore, for the development of the interior of the Town Hall was also awarded to the same contractor. Though a time frame of six months was set for the works, not even half the works have been complete even after 32 months. “Though we have served notices several times, there has been no progress in works. Therefore, it is better to terminate the tender,” Vasu said. Channappa complained that even works such as fixing chairs have not been completed. First, the officials set a deadline till January, which was later extended to March, with no results, he said.

The works, he added, is damaging one of the important heritage buildings in the city. The revenue for the MCC, paid for various programmes held at the Town Hall, is also lost, he added.