The proposal for the collection and transportation of waste from E, F-South and F-North wards to transfer stations and dumping grounds for a seven-year period will be tabled again in the BMC standing committee on Wednesday

Mumbai: The BMC has come under fire for proposing to award the already twice-stalled Rs 718-crore waste management contract for E, F-South and F-North wards — covering areas in Byculla, Parel, Sion and Wadala — to the lowest bidder, Metrro Waste Handling Pvt Ltd or L-1.The proposal for the collection and transportation of waste from these three wards to transfer stations and dumping grounds for a seven-year period, which will be tabled in the civic standing committee on Wednesday, had earlier been stalled by the standing committee in May and June. Committee members had then pointed out that the state government had issued a circular stating that contracts above Rs 250 crore should be retendered if bids exceeded 10% of the estimated cost. They had also cited Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines, which prohibit negotiations with the second-lowest bidder, arguing that the BMC should have opted for fresh tenders instead.A civic official, however, said: “The BMC is saving Rs 4 crore by awarding the contract to the L-1 bidder. Besides, the existing contracts have ended and there is no time left to carry out the tender process again.The solid waste management (SWM) department had initially submitted a proposal recommending the second-lowest bidder, PWG (JV) or L-2, citing a tender condition that restricted the allocation of more than two works to a single contractor.“However, despite the objections in the standing committee, the deputy chief engineer (SWM Planning) again processed and submitted a proposal recommending the second-lowest bidder for approval before the standing committee on June 3,” alleged Congress group leader Ashraf Azmi. “The committee strongly objected to the proposal and referred it back, citing negotiations with the second-lowest bidder are contrary to the CVC guidelines.“Besides, as per a Government Resolution, where the L-1 bid exceeds the prescribed threshold, the tender has to be re-invited. However, the SWM department has now recommended the L-1 bidder, Metrro Waste Handling Pvt Ltd, despite its original bid exceeding the prescribed threshold,” Azmi added. “Furthermore, this recommendation would result in the allocation of more than two works to the same contractor, which is contrary to the very tender condition earlier relied upon by the department to justify recommending the L-2 bidder.”“Such contradictory stands, adopted at different stages to justify the recommendations, create apprehensions of arbitrariness, bias, and possible manipulation of the tender process. The BMC should cancel the present tender and invite fresh tenders,” Azmi stated in a letter to the municipal commissioner.