Nagpur: The slipshod Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), after a series of explosive reports flashed by Nagpur Today exposing the damning role of a ring of contractors and babus in manipulating and managing tendering process, has finally dumped its dubious e-tender process run on website www.nmctenders.com under e-governance and has adopted the www.mahatenders.gov.in website of Government Maharashtra conducted by NIC for e-tender process from June 1.
Now, with this dumping, no new tenders would be uploaded on NMC’s old website www.nmctenders.com from June 1, 2016 and the contractors or contracting firms will have to upload their e-tenders only on www.mahatenders.gov.in website of Government of Maharashtra. Henceforth, all the e-tender advertisements will be displayed or published in the NIC governed website www.mahatenders.gov.in only.
However, all those tenders that have been approved under the old system will have to be completed adhering to the terms and conditions mentioned in the old web-site.
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The move, it seems, is aimed at bringing transparency in the tendering process and leave no scope for manipulation and management of tenders by the cunning contractors and babus.
It is pertinent to recall that Nagpur Today had run a series of explosive reports titled “This contractor ‘manages’ the NMC’s Public Works Deptt the dubious ways,” “RTI reply nails nasty affairs of NMC’s Public Works Deptt and a key contractor,” “Does NMC fend for corrupt contractor, making registration hell for others?” and many.
The reports in short stated: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), still smarting under the sting it got hit by the dumping of Nagpur out from the list of ‘Smart City,’ surprisingly refuses to put its house in order and thus salvage the prestige. On the other hand the local body continues to be silent spectator to dubious affairs being run by equally dubious babus and office-bearers as well. The point in question is how a low rung contractor, till now carrying out Rs 4 lakh works, suddenly bags works of Rs 1.25 crore. Secondly, from where the contractor ‘managed’ to arrange such huge investment within such a short period. The contractor in the ‘limelight’ is Vijay Naidu, who is known as a “fixer.” The role of babus and office-bearers is under cloud as without their “help” the Rs 4 lakh contractor could not bag Rs 1.25 crore work order. One of the office-bearers of NMC Contractors Welfare Association who wished not to be named alleged that a class of officials-office-bearers-corporators is the ‘capable’ investors of NMC contractiors. Many of these capable investors are pocketing moolah through the contractors one way or the other. The Regional Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Manavadhikar Nigrani Samiti Lalsingh Thakur took up the matter with Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch and demanded appropriate legal action in order to stop misuse of people’s tax money by some unscrupulous elements that are ruling the NMC roost.
Read: This contractor “manages” the NMC’s Public Works Deptt the dubious ways
Another report says in brief: Skeletons continue to tumble down from every NMC cupboard. A close study of an RTI reply the Public Works Department of NMC provided has revealed a damning fact when the Regional Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Manavadhikar Nigrani Samiti put up a RTI query to the local body. Notably, the Regional Secretary of Samiti Lalsingh Thakur has been doing the postmortem of shabby e-governance system being run in Nagpur Municipal Corporation and thus exposing the tenders being sold manually through “auction” system rather frequently. Thakur, in order to expose the shady affairs, had been shooting letters to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Mayor Pravin Datke, Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar and even to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) but in vain. Not to be bogged down, Thakur decided to use RTI weapon and posed a query to Public Works Department of NMC on the “activities” of President of NMC Contractors Association Vijay Naidu and his Baba Construction Company. Sources said that upon receiving the RTI query, PWD’s Deputy Engineer D D Jambhulkar reportedly apprised Naidu about the query and gathered the necessary information for hours. The set of information was later forwarded to Thakur through the so-called PRO Ashok Kolhatkar.
Read: RTI reply nails nasty affairs of NMC’s Public Works Deptt and a key contractor
And another damning report says: The thread of corruption appears to be far from being broken in Nagpur Municipal Corporation, as the civic officials have deliberately kept digitally advanced transparent systems at bay and sticking to manual process to have their ‘way’! Sources alleged that using their innate and acquired skills, many officials are practically ruling the roost in many departments of NMC.
However, this practice has seriously brought down the productivity and quality of output. Nonetheless, sources added, entire gamut is firmly placed to stick to corrupt means. The contractual system in Nagpur Municipal Corporation has been proving to be the breeding grounds for corrupt practices, as insiders broke open the entire scheme of things undertaken to get any NMC contractor registered or renewed. Reliable sources revealed that any contractor willing to get registered with NMC for work assignments, he has to directly deal with executive engineers instead of keeping in touch with the city engineer. The change of procedure is allegedly done to fan the ‘returns’ without which Executive Engineer would not budge. It is revealed that the bribe taken is at par with the contractor’s work limit (work worth in rupees).
Read: Does NMC fend for corrupt contractor, making registration hell for others?
Fear of President of Contractor’s Association: The NMC Department seems to be terrified of President of Contractor’s Association that they are making the sets of documents and papers with the President of Contractor’s Association present so that no unwanted or incriminating document reaches the RTI activists. This just proves some financial dealings between the official and the contractors.
Bottom line is: The bombardment of revealing reports by Nagpur Today bore fruits and now the NMC has abolished the dubious its dubious e-tender process run on website www.nmctenders.com under e-governance and has adopted the www.mahatenders.gov.in website of Government Maharashtra conducted by NIC for e-tender process from June 1. But still the moot question is: Will it work? Or the crafty brains of contractors and babus “invent” newer and newer designs to rig the tenders and pocket public money in crores?
By Rajeev Ranjan Kushwaha (rajeev.nagpurtoday@gmail.com)
