Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A shocking revelation has come to light: for several years in the Water Resources Department, competing contractors have been marked as disqualified to award work exclusively to favoured contractors.
The Vanchit Berozgar Abhiyanta Sangharsh Samiti, which has fallen victim to such disqualification, has filed a complaint with the Godavari Corporation and the government against this practice.
Under the Marathwada Godavari Irrigation Development Corporation, construction and management of dams and canals is carried out by two wings — the Water Resources Department and the Command Area Development Authority (CADA). As per government rules, the responsibility of awarding work through tenders to eligible contractors lies with the Executive Engineer, Superintending Engineer, Chief Engineer, and Executive Director.
Sources revealed that certain officials have been pre-arranging to ensure work goes to specific contractors. While the government's e-tender portal allows contractors from across the country to submit bids, increasing competition and enabling quality work at lower rates, other bidders are being disqualified on various pretexts to favour select contractors. Favoured contractors are awarded higher scores, and even when an eligible contractor offers a lower rate, a higher-rate tender ends up getting approved.
Of the 36 tenders worth Rs 590 crore published by the department, 106 contractors submitted 193 bids, 64 were found eligible and 125 disqualified. Notably, 16 works were awarded to just 5 contractors.
Executive Engineer Umesh Wankhede maintained that the process is transparent, with a scrutiny committee deciding eligibility, disqualification reports uploaded on the e-tender portal, and all required documents verified for each submission.