No need for scrapping e-tender: MMC CO

TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Margao Municipal Council’s controversial e-tender has come back to haunt the civic body, with a verification exercise conducted by the Public Works Department (PWD) revealing that a couple of tendered works were already partially completed by the agency.
Strangely, this is the second time that verification exercise had revealed partial or full completion of some of the tendered works, but neither Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar nor his deputy and Urban Development Minister Francis D’Souza had deemed fit to order an independent probe into the e-tender or scrap the tender. A similar verification exercise carried out by the Municipality itself has found around four works partially completed by the civic body.
When Herald contacted MMC Chief Officer Deepali Naik to throw light on the PWD report on the verification of the tendered works, she said the report has cited a couple of works partially completed by the agency which were also tendered by the civic body. “I am in the process of compiling the PWD’s report. It appears there may be around eight tendered works which stands partially or fully completed”, she said.
Interestingly, the Chief Officer said the civic body would prepare fresh estimates for the eight tenders that have come under a cloud and issue work order for the remaining works, sending clear indications that the civic body would not scrap the tender. “There’s no need to scrap the tender. Works which are clear can be taken up by contractors”, she said.
A host of questions, however, are being raised in the corridors of the civic body whether it is appropriate for it to go ahead with some works when the e-tender has come under a cloud. A question is also being raised as to why the government was dragging its feet in instituting a full-fledged probe when the government had in the past referred similar cases for probe by investigating agencies.
In the instant case, Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar is believed to have only sought report from the Municipal Chief Officer to verify the works by the PWD and WRD and submit a report, indicating that the government is not in a hurry to order an independent probe. “An independent probe would not have only helped to bring the correct picture before the people, but also fix responsibility on the erring civic babus”, remarked a former Margao Municipal Chairperson.