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Journalism of Courage
The three-member committee looking into the allegations by BHEL in the award of NHPC’s Subansiri Power Project tender has given a clean chit to NHPC. The committee, under the chairmanship of CMD of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), H L Bajaj, submitted its report on Tuesday.
BHEL had alleged that it was being discriminated against by fellow NHPC, who awarded the Rs 1,600-crore tender to French equipment supplier Alstom. In its report, the committee found no merit in BHEL’s allegations.
The war over the tender had resulted in a series of letters exchanged between Minister of Heavy Industries Santosh Mohan Dev batting for the BHEL, the PSU in his turf, and Power Minister P.M. Sayed under whose administration NHPC falls.
But the tug of war has greater ramifications — the Rs 290-crore loss due to the 58-day delay (estimated by the power ministry) — which the government will need to find answers for.
The final report submitted by the three-member committee headed by H.L. Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), however, shows that even after the two-month delay, there was no change in the end result of this competition.
The report states: “The basic ground rules of evaluation/methodology of correction to be adopted in the event of arithmetical error have been clearly spelt out in the Bid documents. The method adopted by the Tender Evaluation Committee of NHPC is in accordance with the provisions contained in the Bid documents.”
• “The contention of JV of BHEL and Marubeni Corporation that share of the leader of consortium is only 34 per cent has been examined by the Committee and it is of the opinion that Bid documents do not prohibit the foreign bidder from sourcing equipment from domestic manufacturers on an ex-works basis. The complaint of BHEL is not tenable.”
• “Alstom have indicated a lower foreign component in schedule-1 their price bid with a view to reduce loading on account of Price preference under the Mega Power Policy. BHEL did the same in past tenders for Parbati Stage II and Teesta Stage V when their import content was in the range of 55 to 60 per cent.”
• “The Committee has made an assessment of Alstom Projects India Ltd by visiting their works, and is of the view that they are in a position to carry out heavy structural fabrication works. The company can identify sub-contractors as per the bid.’’
