Shimla, Feb 21
The ENC (Projects) Mandi has been accused of misusing his powers and finalizing a tender by superseding all rules and regulations to benefit a particular firm. This allegation was made by Satpal Satti, MLA and former BJP State president.
Highlighting a gross irregularity in the award of a tender to a specific firm for the “Augmentation of source of various LWSS from river Beas in Barsar area” under NDB funding, he stated that the issue concerns the work for providing WSS in Barsar area, which was approved under NDB funding for approximately Rs. 130 Crores. He added that the approved estimate designated the source of this scheme as the river Beas, and the tender was accordingly called by Chief Engineer (PMU) Mandi in July 2022. The tender was also finalized by the E-in-Chief (Projects) Mandi after negotiation with the lowest bidder for an amount of approximately Rs. 205 Crores, exceeding the approved cost of Rs. 130 Crores. However, the tender was not awarded due to the excessive increase in cost over the approved amount.
Meanwhile, Chief Engineer JSV Hamirpur Zone informed ENC (Projects), Mandi in Feb/March 2023 that the project’s cost could be reduced by 50 to 60 Crore if the source of the project was changed from the Beas River to the Sutlej River, with a revised water demand after deducting the discharge available in the existing water supply schemes in the Barsar area. According to Satti, CE JSV Hamirpur framed the revised detailed estimate based on a detailed survey and investigation, taking the Sutlej River as the source, amounting to about Rs. 130 Crores. CE (JSV) Hamirpur strongly recommended that the revised technical sanction should be accorded by the E-in-Chief (Projects) so that fresh tenders could be invited based on the revised DNIT. This recommendation was made because changing the source of the project would alter every component of the project, such as the design of intake structure, diameter/length of rising main, suitability of pumping machinery capacity of reservoir, diameter/length of gravity mains, etc., leading to a significant change in the design and scope of the entire project.
However, instead of according the revised technical sanction and approving the revised DNIT before reinviting fresh tenders as recommended by CE JSV Hamirpur, ENC (Projects) finalized the same old tender. This action was deemed to have no sanctity against rules, as the scope of work had completely changed due to the shift in the project’s source, according to Satti.
“This is a clear-cut case of doubtful integrity,” commented Satti. He further added that the recommendation of Chief Engineer JSV Hamirpur to invite fresh tenders, which would have ensured healthy competition, was completely ignored by ENC (Projects) Mandi. “In case fresh tenders had been invited, considering the revised scope of work, there would have been more transparency, and even lower rates could have been obtained in fresh tenders, a possibility that was totally ignored,” he added.
The BJP MLA questioned how rates of different items with different lead/carriage were finalized when the scope of every component was going to change due to the shifting of the source. He demanded an immediate inquiry through the state government and added that if the state government failed to take any action, the matter would be taken up with central investigation government agencies.
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The HimachalScape Bureau comprises seasoned journalists from Himachal Pradesh with over 25 years of experience in leading media conglomerates such as The Times of India and United News of India. Known for their in-depth regional insights, the team brings credible, research-driven, and balanced reportage on Himachal’s socio-political and developmental landscape.
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