<p>Bengaluru: What was meant to be a Rs 65-crore advertising tender for the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bmrcl">BMRCL</a>) has run into a controversy, with bidders alleging that the technical scoring system is “tilted” to favour a single player. They believe Namma Metro would stand to lose over Rs 375 crore over the next 15 years, stating that the tender undermines both transparency and fair competition. </p>.<p>After a gap of seven years, BMRCL recently invited tenders to grant advertisement rights on select metro piers and portal. It identified a whopping 8,755 pillars for ads.</p>.<p>The tender has, however, raised several questions. One, the contract period stretches to 12 years and can be extended by three more years, making it unusually long. Second, BMRCL has bundled all corridors into a single package, which restricts competitive bidding. It has also included non-operational corridors like Blue line (ORR) and Pink line (Bannerghatta Road-Nagawara), which is designed to create monopoly and said to favour the private firm.</p>.<p>BMRCL's MD J Ravishankar was not available for comment.</p>.Bengaluru metro pink line 2026: Everything you need to know.<p>Questions have also been raised over tender norms. In what appears to be a clear sign to exclude competition, 30 marks have been assigned for a presentation made before BMRCL officials, a process bidders call subjective and open to manipulation. Secondly, past experience in displaying advertisements on metro pillars — which should have been an eligibility criterion — has instead been included under the technical criteria with additional score points. Sources said this was done to inflate the combined score of a particular bidder.</p>.<p>“BMRCL will be the loser,” said a representative of an advertising firm. “By virtue of a high technical score, a bidder may get selected even if others have offered to pay more,” the person said, adding that the experience of handling metro-pillar advertisements should not have been the only criterion since such ads were banned in Bengaluru for seven years.</p>.<p>Advertising is a major contributor to Namma Metro’s non-fare revenue, helping the utility raise funds as it expands its network and clears loans. While the move was long overdue, Namma Metro could lose about Rs 25 crore annually and over Rs 375 crore in the next 15 years.</p>.<p>Some of the advertisers also alleged that the tender conditions were designed to keep local players out.</p>.<p>“All existing and future metro corridors have been clubbed into a single package. Plus, the contract period is too long. Given these factors, the technical conditions should have been more competitive,” they said, noting there will be little or no competition in the market to provide such a display<br>of advertisements across the city. </p>.<p>BMRCL managing director J Ravishankar was not available for comment.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: What was meant to be a Rs 65-crore advertising tender for the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bmrcl">BMRCL</a>) has run into a controversy, with bidders alleging that the technical scoring system is “tilted” to favour a single player. They believe Namma Metro would stand to lose over Rs 375 crore over the next 15 years, stating that the tender undermines both transparency and fair competition. </p>.<p>After a gap of seven years, BMRCL recently invited tenders to grant advertisement rights on select metro piers and portal. It identified a whopping 8,755 pillars for ads.</p>.<p>The tender has, however, raised several questions. One, the contract period stretches to 12 years and can be extended by three more years, making it unusually long. Second, BMRCL has bundled all corridors into a single package, which restricts competitive bidding. It has also included non-operational corridors like Blue line (ORR) and Pink line (Bannerghatta Road-Nagawara), which is designed to create monopoly and said to favour the private firm.</p>.<p>BMRCL's MD J Ravishankar was not available for comment.</p>.Bengaluru metro pink line 2026: Everything you need to know.<p>Questions have also been raised over tender norms. In what appears to be a clear sign to exclude competition, 30 marks have been assigned for a presentation made before BMRCL officials, a process bidders call subjective and open to manipulation. Secondly, past experience in displaying advertisements on metro pillars — which should have been an eligibility criterion — has instead been included under the technical criteria with additional score points. Sources said this was done to inflate the combined score of a particular bidder.</p>.<p>“BMRCL will be the loser,” said a representative of an advertising firm. “By virtue of a high technical score, a bidder may get selected even if others have offered to pay more,” the person said, adding that the experience of handling metro-pillar advertisements should not have been the only criterion since such ads were banned in Bengaluru for seven years.</p>.<p>Advertising is a major contributor to Namma Metro’s non-fare revenue, helping the utility raise funds as it expands its network and clears loans. While the move was long overdue, Namma Metro could lose about Rs 25 crore annually and over Rs 375 crore in the next 15 years.</p>.<p>Some of the advertisers also alleged that the tender conditions were designed to keep local players out.</p>.<p>“All existing and future metro corridors have been clubbed into a single package. Plus, the contract period is too long. Given these factors, the technical conditions should have been more competitive,” they said, noting there will be little or no competition in the market to provide such a display<br>of advertisements across the city. </p>.<p>BMRCL managing director J Ravishankar was not available for comment.</p>