Team Herald
PANJIM: A “human error” by an Executive Engineer in an e-tender process led to chaos at the Public Works Department (PWD), as the Goa Contractors Union (GCU) protested the participation of a non-Goan contractor in the tendering.
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A delegation of the GCU led by its president Sunil Signapurkar met PWD Chief Engineer Santosh Mhapne to voice their strong opposition to the participation of a Madhya Pradesh-based construction company in Goa’s e-tendering process. They urged him to reject bids from contractors outside the State and lacking a Goa-based GST registration.
Signapurkar emphasized the union’s commitment to safeguarding the interests of contractors registered with Goa PWD. “Allowing out-of-state contractors to participate in the tendering process would threaten the livelihood of Goan contractors,” he said.
GCU spokesperson Jitesh Kamat said the acceptance of the technical evaluation and terming it as a “human error” sets a dangerous precedent. He warned that such errors should not be repeated as they could lead to a great disadvantage Goan contractors and engineers.
Apart from Signapurkar and Kamat, the delegation included general secretary Rajesh Haldankar, treasurer Amol Navelkar, secretaries, Sandesh Potnis and Umesh Gadekar, ex-president Sangram Kerkar, Ashok Harjan and other senior members.
The delegation highlighted the two-step process of the e-tendering system, technical evaluation and financial bid opening. They criticized the oversight that allowed an outside-State contractor to pass the technical evaluation stage, which they argued should have been rejected outright.
The union urged the PWD Minister to issue a notification mandating the rejection of non-registered contractors during the technical evaluation phase. Additionally, they requested that tender notices clearly specify whether contractors from other states are permitted, especially for specialized works.
