HYDERABAD: Admitting that some irregularities took place in the tender process for the Mana Ooru-Mana Badi works, the State government on Wednesday informed the Telangana High Court that it cancelled the tender process worth crores and new bids would be called soon.
The bids cancelled include Rs 164 crore for procurement of green chalk boards, Rs 195 crore for furniture and Rs 360 crores for dual desks to be supplied to identified government / local body schools under the Mana Ooru Mana Badi / Mana Basti Mana Badi programme in the State.
A bench headed by Justice Vijaysen Reddy was hearing a petition filed by Kendriya Bhandar, Zenith Metaplast Pvt Ltd, and V3 Enterprises alleging irregularities during the invitation of tenders. The petitioners accused the government of excluding them from bidding and awarding the contract to Elegant Methodex despite the fact that they met all of the requirements outlined in the tendering procedures.
According to the petitioners, the government did not invite them and withheld from the court why they were listed ineligible. It is pertinent to mention that other than an online portal showing that the petitioner herein has not met the criteria listed in the tender, there was no information provided by the respondents -- the School Education Department Secretary, TSEWIDC Chief Engineer and Elegant Methodex -- why the petitioner has not fulfilled the criteria, the petition said. According to the appellants, the government withheld the reasons for deeming them ineligible for the bids.