PGI body accuses engineer of malpractices in issuing tender

An official said,“Six companies applied for it,of which three agencies were found eligible and tender documents were issued to eligible agencies. Out of six,tenders from only three agencies were received on the due date”.

The estimated cost was about Rs 1.53 crore. However,the tender was given to a Chandigarh-based company at Rs 1.76 crore,which is 15.06 per cent higher than the estimated rates.

Further,two out of three contractors,who applied for the tender,were ineligible. The estimated cost of the tender is Rs 1.53 crore,however,one company that applied for the tender has the tendering limit Rs 30 lakh and another company has the tendering limit of Rs 1 crore.

In both the above cases,no one was eligible to apply for the tender,hence there was no competition. As per rules in such a case,if other parties are not competent,then a tender should be reissued.

Members of PGIMER Contractors’ Welfare Association alleged that the engineer,P S Saini,of forcing his junior staff to justify the amount quoted by the Chandigarh-based agency.

“The junior staff is making new analysis of rates,which have not been allotted to any agency in Chandigarh. These analysis of rates are being made without any quotation/basic/logic,” they said.

The members have asked for cancellation of the tendering process and re-invites for this work.

Despite repeated attempts,Saini was unavailable for comments.

Manju Wadwalkar,Public Relation Officer of PGIMER,denied that any such tender had been issued for the construction of DDTC. “No such tender has been issued yet. The people who were blacklisted from the tendering process are making these false claims,” she said.