Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has come under scrutiny after awarding a key technology tender to a higher bidder, primarily due to superior presentation scores under the Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) system — a move that resulted in an additional financial burden of Rs 2.11 crore on the civic body.The tender, aimed at strengthening the fire department’s emergency response system through Information and Communication Technology (ICT), was approved by the standing committee in Feb at Rs 11.99 crore. This was 63.8% higher than the original estimated cost of Rs 7.32 crore.According to official documents, four firms participated in the bidding process, of which two were disqualified at the preliminary stage. The remaining two — Arya Omnitalk Wireless Solutions Pvt Ltd and Raminfo Limited — advanced to technical and financial evaluation.Under the QCBS model, bidders are assessed on both technical merit and financial quotes. In the technical evaluation (60 marks), Raminfo Limited scored higher with 55 marks compared to Arya Omnitalk’s 52.4. However, the balance shifted dramatically during the presentation round, which carried 40 marks and was evaluated by a five-member committee comprising senior AMC officials and an adviser from IIT Gandhinagar.Arya Omnitalk secured 37.4 marks in the presentation, significantly outperforming Raminfo, which scored just 15.6. This boost helped Arya Omnitalk achieve a total technical score of 89.8, compared to Raminfo’s 70.6 — allowing both firms to qualify for financial bid opening.When financial bids were opened, Arya Omnitalk quoted ₹16.14 crore, while Raminfo submitted a substantially lower bid of Rs 9.87 crore. Despite this, the final combined scoring placed Arya Omnitalk marginally ahead with 81.21 marks against Raminfo’s 79.42 — a difference of just 1.79 marks.Sources said the contract was eventually awarded to Arya Omnitalk after negotiations reduced its bid to Rs 11.99 crore. However, this remained Rs 2.11 crore higher than Raminfo’s original quote.Critics within the civic administration argue that excessive weightage to presentation-based scoring under QCBS has led to decisions that undermine cost efficiency. Officials warn that such practices, increasingly preferred over the traditional two-bid system, could lead to recurring financial losses for the corporation if not reviewed.Box: The projectEnhancing fire service satisfaction, reliability, and punctuality of emergency operationsStrong centralised dashboard with real-time location and live view of incidentTimely feedback of incident and integrated response and management systemImproved overall communication
