Nagpur: Amid growing concerns over contractors quoting abnormally low rates for civic works, city contractors have urged the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s standing committee chairperson Shivani Dani Wakhare to revert to the earlier system of submitting performance security in the form of a demand draft instead of bank guarantees.In a representation submitted by NMC Contractors Welfare Association president C Vijay Nayudu, the association said the rising trend of contractors quoting 30% to 40% below estimated rates was harming the quality of works and creating unhealthy competition. TOI has been consistently highlighting the issue of contractors bidding unusually low and the civic body continuing to award works at such rates, raising concerns over quality and delays in works. The association has proposed that performance security (PS) be made mandatory in the form of a demand draft to be uploaded during tender submission and physically submitted within three working days. According to the contractors, this would discourage unrealistic bidding, prevent contractors from backing out after quoting low rates, and ensure only financially capable bidders participate in tenders. The representation also pointed out that genuine contractors are increasingly being pushed out due to aggressive underbidding, while many contractors are taking financial risks to secure work. It claimed the demand draft system would automatically restrict contractors from taking up work beyond their capacity and reduce irregularities in the tender process. Apart from this, the association has suggested several reforms, including making it compulsory to upload location sketches and detailed drawings before floating tenders, conducting random site inspections before finalising estimates, and creating a simpler system to revise estimates if genuine errors are found. It also demanded that all tender-related works be handled by a single department instead of multiple wings of the civic body. The association has sought a meeting with the chairperson and said it was ready for an open discussion before the proposals are implemented.
