Times
of India: Nagpur: Saturday, 20 December 2014.
RTI information availed by a citizen has revealed
that the city based National Bureau of Soil Survey and land Use Planning
(NBSS&LUP) has been giving construction work to the same civil contractor
for years together (since 2009). The Bureau also appears to be intentionally
breaking up even big works into smaller ones so they could be locally
sanctioned. Obviously, the beneficiary is same contractor Bharat Enterprises.
All the projects' cost just under Rs 5 lakh, which
happens to be the maximum limit that the Bureau director can sanction. Projects
costing more are to be cleared by Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR). Though the present contractor was first hired by the Bureau in 2009
during the tenure of director Dipak Sarkar, he continues to be hired for every
civil work ever since. Present director S K Singh sees no harm in this and
claims substantial and practical justifications for it.
RTI papers in possession with TOI show that Bharat
Enterprises owned by Anand Sakhale has been getting projects costing anything
between Rs 1 lakh plus to Rs 4.99 lakh. Some of these civil works (for example
compound wall work, pavement work of same place) have obviously been broken up
to ensure total amount of one instalment doesn't exceed Rs 5 lakh. The same person
has bid and won the contract for all the pieces.
In one case, six different works, each less than
Rs 5 lakh, were awarded on a single day on January 17, 2011. They all pertain
to fixing vitrified tiles at various places in staff quarters as well as office
premises, painting plastering etc and should logically be given out as a single
work. In March 2011 again, four contracts were given to the same contractor.
The total civil work allotted to Bharat Enterprises from 2009 to 2011 exceeds
Rs 1.20 crore.
Another lacuna in awarding the contract, either
knowingly or unknowingly, is that the contractor was hired without being asked
to submit the income tax returns, VAT registration and payment of service tax
etc.
The present finance officer of the Bureau refused
to speak to TOI on the subject but sources in his department told TOI the
contractor now was an income tax payee. "Apparently it was a big mistake
on part of the then finance officials and the director to not demand these
papers in the tender and so the contractor may not have submitted them. It
cannot be that a contract is issued to a party that has not submitted all the
required documents as required in the tender," said a source.
Other sources in the Bureau also objected to what
appears to be a rigged process. "How can the same contractor always bid
the lowest? Why can't all works of one type like tiling, painting, construction
of a wall, scooter or car stands etc be given in one go. Why they have to be
split into smaller works? How can an accounts officer not demand essential
papers while allotting contract," said a senior non-technical staff
member.
Bureau director S K Singh justified breaking up of
contracts to less than Rs 5 lakh listing various limitations attached to
allocation of any maintenance works. "I am not justifying any mistakes but
it is true that any requests for sanctions above Rs 5 lakh keep pending with
ICAR for over a year. One of our proposals was turned down by ICAR after a year
as it was costing Rs 3.8 lakh. We can't wait that long. CPWD doesn't respond to
any tenders or requests by the Bureau for small works. Big contractors do not
bid for them either," he said.
Singh also added there was complete transparency
in tendering and allocating the work. Tenders were opened in presence of all
bidders. We don't give a work unless there are minimum three bidders. In
emergency situations like ministers and officials' visits, Bureau has to give
small works and they are accepted by only Bharat Enterprises, he added.
SOILED WORKS
· All civil works allotted to
same contractor since years
· Contractor did not submit
income tax returns or other certificates
· Large works like building a
compound wall, tiling entire premises, painting broken up into smaller ones so they
could be locally sanctione
· Small contracts for same type
of work allotted within few weeks of each other, sometimes on a single day
· Same contractor always
magically turns out to be the lowest bidder
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