Govt open for single-bid tenders: Minister

The state government will consider on a case-by-case basis single bid tenders for outsourcing government hospital laboratory services, Minister of State for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Patil said the tender by Matrix Imaging Solutions Pvt Ltd for opening a  superspeciality lab at the PMSSY Hospital on the Victoria Hospital campus was cleared despite being a single bid as the company had quoted prices for its services lower than that offered by the government.

Violation of codes

The tendering process had run into controversy on two counts - violation of code of conduct for  ministers as one of the directors of the company, Yathindra is the son of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and also that the company was the only bidder in the e-tendering process.
 
Asked whether the government will consider single bids by companies if they come forward to offer laboratory-related services at other government hospitals at prices lesser than that charged by the government, Patil said it would be on a “need and requirement” basis.

He said Matrix could revise the fees charged for its services after two years.

Checks and balances

However, the government will make sure that there are checks and balances during the revision. Patil pointed out that initially five companies had attended the pre-bid meeting for the lab, but only two participated in the bidding.

The bid by the other company was rejected as the earnest money deposit could not be uploaded. The entire process was handled by the e-governance department and the Medical Education department had no role to play, he said.

Heat-related illnesses

Patil said all district hospitals have been directed to gear themselves to tackle heat-related illnesses especially in North Karnataka in the wake of soaring temperatures.