VIJAYAWADA: The State Water Resources department has completed the technical evaluation of the bid filed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) for Polavaram Irrigation Project Headworks as a part of the government’s reverse tendering plan and found that it satisfies the requirements. The department is now awaiting the final order of the High Court, which had directed the government, in an interim order, not to entrust the works with another agency, following the petition filed by Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd (NECL) challenging the cancellation of hydel power plant contract.
The department had opened the financial bids filed by MEIL for both irrigation and hydel power plant, which were 12.6 per cent lesser than the estimated contract value (ECV) on September 23. Chief Engineer of the irrigation project B Sudhakara Babu sent a letter to Special Chief Secretary (Water Resources) Adityanath Das the same day, that ‘it may be appropriate to award the contract to MEIL subject to clearing technical/commercial qualification’. The review of the technical qualification was scheduled to be completed by Tuesday (October 1).
“We have completed the technical evaluation and found that MEIL satisfies the pre-requisite conditions. In fact, we finished it last week itself as there was only one firm which participated in the process. We are now waiting for the High Court’s order, based on which we will proceed accordingly,” a senior official explained.
Even though the department is contemplating to go ahead with award of the contract pertaining to irrigation works, as the petition in the court is against APGENCO for cancelling hydel power project, the officials said they would wait for the order. “Since both the projects were clubbed into a single tender, we can’t entrust one part and leave the other. So, we will wait for the court’s order,” the official noted. For the record, the department mulled giving the irrigation work order to MEIL as the court proceedings may get delayed, thus affecting the government’s plan to resume the works by November. The information with regard to the ‘saving’ done through the re-tendering process has also been submitted to the court for perusal, sources said.
If and when the court gives clearance, the official noted, they would send the details of the bids to Commissioner of Tenders, who would then process the tenders for awarding the contract. The government released fresh tenders for irrigation and hydel power plant in August with an ECV of `4,987.55 crore. Even though about eight infrastructure firms participated in the pre-bid meeting, only MEIL filed bids quoting `4,359.11 cr. This resulted in the cancellation of reverse tendering, which needs at least two bidders.