Bengaluru: BSWML revises solid waste management tender after bidders highlight errors

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML), which recently issued tenders for outsourcing the city’s solid waste management services to private agencies for the next 30 years, revised them following feedback from bidders.

The work, split into four packages, includes the collection, transportation, and disposal of solid waste. The last date for submitting bids is December 24.

In response to feedback from a pre-bid meeting earlier this month, BSWML issued an addendum making 11 corrections to the tender document. These changes addressed glaring errors, including sections that appeared to be copied and pasted from tender documents of other Indian cities.

Errors & revisions

The original document included specifications irrelevant to Bengaluru, such as technical requirements meant for West Bengal, a letter of comfort from Madhya Pradesh, performance standards of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, and terms of reference for ‘Swach Bhopal’ instead of ‘Swach Bengaluru.’

Apart from fixing these errors, BSWML made two key updates to the tender —  extension of contract period (the concession period of 30 years may be extended based on mutual agreement between the concessionaire and the authority) and arbitration clause (the arbitration clause was removed, following a state government directive requiring affected parties to approach the High Court for dispute resolution.) 

The tender documents were reportedly prepared by a third party, but BSWML has not disclosed the cost of the documentation process.