THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government seems to have taken a U-turn on its anti-corruption crusade by exempting local self-governments (LSGs) from e-tendering public works. According to an order issued by the finance department on Sunday, works costing up to Rs 5 lakh have been given exemption from the mandate for e-tender until March 31, 2023.
The new order said the government received several applications seeking an exemption. An order issued on October 18 had given local bodies the discretionary right to pay up to 10% excess of the estimate for select works. Its misuse can also be expected in the wake of the new order, said a source.
E-tendering was made mandatory for public works below Rs 5 lakh on June 17 this year. The finance secretary’s order quoted the recommendation by the Finance Inspection wing that e-tender will help curb the corrupt practice of bifurcating work.
The chief engineers’ committee had seconded this. Bifurcation of works was a common practice then to bypass the rule that mandates e-tender for works above Rs 5 lakh. For instance, road work costing `10 lakh comes under the purview of e-tender. But the rule can be bypassed if separate tenders are floated for two portions of that road. That was a rampant practice adopted by the engineer-contractor nexus in LSGs, the source added.
It is reliably learnt that the switch over to e-tender helped the government make huge savings.
“Earlier, contractor lobbies used to ‘share’ the works in a local body. Since the works are advertised locally, an LSG would get only a small number of bids,” said a source.
E-TENDER, A GAME CHANGER
E-tender was a game changer that brought in more transparency and competition, which resulted in contractors underquoting work. Several works were bid for 25-40% less than the estimate. Though underquoting risks the quality of work, the government did not choose to address this issue.
‘TO HELP CONTRACTORS WHO AREN’T TECH SAVVY’
Finance Minister K N Balagopal said it was a temporary relaxation to small-time contractors who are not tech savvy. “Various contractors associations had been protesting against it since the online submission was a cumbersome task for their members. The e-tender platform is formulated for big contract works. Small-time contractors had to seek help from Akshaya centres or similar agencies to submit the tender. That risked confidentiality,” he said. The minister said a less-tedious e-tender platform is planned for small works. The current exemption will not be extended after March 31, he said.