Tender worth Rs 125 cr for Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment cancelled

The tender was floated in June and ended in July. It was for curation, content development, exhibit fabrication and outdoor sculpture works of the project. A total of four firms had submitted their bids and three of the four bidders had been qualified for the tender.

A senior officer said, “The tender was to design and develop the museums and exhibitions in the buildings of the ashram on DBOT mode. During evaluation, we realised that the bids could be quite different, depending on the manner in which they plan to design and execute the same and it would not be able to fairly compare the two. For example, a bidder may bid considering frugality as the driving principle of the design. Whereas, another bidder may give a bid with design that includes digital elements in the design. Both could be good designs, but their pricing could be different. So, the tender has been cancelled and the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of Rs 2 crore has been returned to the bidders.”

The officer said, “Now, we plan to float two tenders. First, we will decide the design of museums and exhibitions. And for that, a designer will be selected through a tender process. After selection of the designer and subsequent fixing of the design, another tender will be floated to execute the design. The two new tenders will not be in DBOT mode, but just to execute the task.”

The officer also said that to decide the elements of the design of the museums and exhibitions at the buildings of the redeveloped ashram, a committee is likely to be appointed by the state government.

Under the project, the MGSAMT had earlier issued several tenders for different works such as restoration of old buildings, construction of the boundary wall of the campus and external infrastructure development, including civil, mechanical, electrical and fire fighting, among others.

The MGSAMT was established by the Gujarat government to implement the ashram redevelopment project, a joint effort of the state government and the Centre.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is the chairperson of the governing council of the trust whereas retired IAS officer I P Gautam is the chairperson of its executive council. CM Patel has been regularly visiting the ashram to inspect the ongoing works under the project.

The Gandhi ashram redevelopment project aims to restore the ashram to its “original form”, preserving its ethos when it was established by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917. The ashram, spreads over five acres of land, witnesses around 3,000 visitors daily.