ULHASNAGAR: Ulhasnagar Municipal Commissioner Manisha Awhale has ordered an inquiry into the manual tendering process followed by the civic body, acting on a complaint filed by BJP corporator Sanjay Singh. The commissioner has also directed that no fresh manual tenders be proposed or published until the inquiry reaches its final conclusion.According to the written order issued by Awhale, Singh had raised concerns over several irregularities allegedly noticed in tendering processes carried out manually by the municipal corporation over the past four years. Taking cognisance of the complaint, the civic administration had asked the city engineer to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.The commissioner’s order states that scrutiny of the inquiry report is currently underway and that, until its final findings are submitted and the matter is concluded, no new tenders should be proposed or published through the manual process for development works.The issue was raised by Singh after the civic body floated several tenders worth crores of rupees by showing individual works as being valued below Rs 10 lakh. Since works below the prescribed threshold could be processed through the manual tender route, multiple such tenders were allegedly issued separately.Singh had questioned the process, alleging that splitting larger works into smaller packages to keep them below the threshold could lead to shortcomings in the tendering procedure and create scope for irregularities and corruption. He had sought an investigation into the manner in which such tenders were processed.Singh has alleged that development works worth around Rs 200 crore were carried out through the manual tendering system over the past four years. Despite such a huge expenditure, he claimed, the city has not witnessed development proportionate to the money spent.He further alleged that in several cases, separate tenders were floated for different components of what appeared to be the same work, raising questions over the transparency of the process. Singh alleged that there was clear scope for corruption in such cases and demanded that the entire manual tendering process be scrutinised.Welcoming Awhale’s decision, Singh thanked the commissioner for taking his complaint seriously and ordering an inquiry. He said he hoped the investigation would bring out irregularities in the execution of civic works and establish greater accountability in the tendering system.Singh also said manual tenders are intended primarily for emergency works and expressed hope that the commissioner’s directive would prevent the practice from being used routinely for development works. He said the move could pave the way for civic works to be awarded through a more transparent tendering process.
