…tailormade software to help do the job forgotten

The purpose of e-tendering was to end mafia influence from the tendering process,ensure transparency,check corruption by government officials and enable people to take part in the tender process fearlessly.

While e-tendering has taken off in states like Tamil Nadu,Orissa,Haryana,Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka and Gujarat,there are only a handful of departments in the state which offer the facility.

Almost a year ago,the project was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mayawati and PWD Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui with all fanfare. As per the Government of India guidelines,all departments should have been equipped with necessary elements for e-tendering by April 1,said a senior official of the IT and Electronics Department. “Maybe due to elections,the process has slowed down.”

On June 1,2008,e-tendering was introduced on pilot basis in a few departments like the PWD and Irrigation,Medical and Health,Department of Printing and Publishing,Information Technology & Electronics and Directorate of Industries.

The pilot project was for four months,after which these departments were supposed to invite tenders electronically through e-tendering. But till date,it is only a few departments like Irrigation,Jal Nigam,Printing & Stationary and Directorate of Industries,where tendering is a centrally controlled process and which have started e-tendering in a full-fledged way.

The Medical and Health department has got its digital signature certificate done now,and in PWD,only Kanpur and Lucknow zones are following e-tendering.

A few government agencies like the UP Power Generation Corporation and the Non-Conventional Energy Development Agency,have applied for DSC,which is the first step to execute E-tendering.

The National Informatics Centre,a Central body,has developed the website for e-tendering,where from publication of tender to bidding,the entire process is done online. The system,which is fully secure,saves time and money besides ensuring complete transparency.

The reason IT & Electronics department Principal Secretary Chandra Prakash gives for the delay from various departments is “the probable resistance to change”. “The Department of IT and Electronics has no authority to force other departments to expedite the process,” he says.

But now since the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna — a central scheme — has made e-tendering mandatory recently,the state government has convened a high-level meeting next week to review the progress of the project.