CHENNAI: The Tambaram City Municipal Corporation (TCMC) has cancelled around 15 tenders issued between January and March, and floated re-tenders after it was found that adequate time had not been given for the bidders to submit bids.
The decision comes after a section of contractors alleged not giving sufficient time violates the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998 and restricts fair competition.
TCMC invited tenders for works such as laying roads in various streets, constructing stormwater drains and RCC culverts on the last week of December. Contractors claimed the time given to submit bids ranged from just four hours to a few days.
They said after they raised the issue with TCMC Commissioner S Balachander, who is also the tender inviting authority, the earlier tender notifications were cancelled and officials were instructed to reissue them. However, they alleged the new tenders issued between March 3 and March 5 again provided only one to six days for submitting bids.
Speaking to TNIE, a group of civil contractors said in the first round, some tenders were opened in the morning and closed within a few hours on the same day. “In one case, the tender was opened at 11 am and closed at 3 pm on the same day. In another case, it was opened at 9 am and closed at 3 pm the next day,” they said.
Contractors pointed out before submitting a tender, the corporation must inspect the work site, assess the manpower and equipment required, and arrange documents and certificates to prove their eligibility. They said it is nearly impossible to complete these steps within such a short period. Legally, a minimum time between the tender notice publication and the last date for submission should be 15 days for works valued up to Rs 10 crore and 30 days for works above Rs 10 crore.
When contacted, Balachander told TNIE that he has officials to cancel the tenders and reissue them with a proper time window as per the Tender Transparency Act.