YSRCP Govt Goes for Reverse Tendering for Major Projects, Opposition TDP Alleges Nexus with Corporates

During the ongoing winter session of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, opposition Telugu Desam Party under former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership walked backwards in the state secretariat premises in protest against the ‘reverse tendering’ projects under YSRCP government.

Naidu said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had cancelled all the contracts granted by the previous TDP government and entrusted the projects to select contractors in the name of “reverse tendering”.

“The tenders were reserved for a few contractors. So, it is not reverse tendering, but a reserve tendering taken up by the Jagan government. That is why we are walking in the reverse direction,” Naidu told reporters.

As per the guidelines issued by the state government with regard to reverse tendering or tender-cum-reverse auctioning for ongoing projects, existing agreements will be terminated and the concerned departments will prepare the estimated value of the balance work with the original agreement rates. This value would become “the Initial Bench Mark (IBM) value or Estimated Contract Value (ECV) on which tender-cum-E Auction (reverse tendering) shall be proceeded.” The bidding comenses in a prescribed time on an electronic platform and the lowest quoted bid in the tender process will get the contract.

Claiming to be putting an end to corruption in execution of the projects, the YSRCP government has gone for reverse tendering of the ongoing projects while terminating the previous contracts and proposed the same for new projects. Additionally, the government has constituted a Judicial Preview Committee headed by retired High Court Judge Justice Sivasankara Rao, for conducting review of all the tenders that the government invites for any work above Rs 10 lakh.

Accusing the previous government of massive corruption in the construction of Polavaram irrigation project, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had earlier cancelled the contract given to Navayuga Constructions and called for reverse tendering. Mega Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) grabbed the project and began work from 21 November, almost six months after the project work got stalled.

MEIL has earlier announced that it would complete the spillway works in Polavaram Project, across river Godavari, by June 2020.

According to a White Paper released by Naidu before elections this year, nearly 62 per cent works have been completed in the Polavaram project.

Last week, TDP MLA D Umamaheswara Rao accused YSRCP government of ‘reserving’ the polavaram project to MEIL. “Why only Mega company participated in the reverse tendering process?” he questioned Irrigation Minister Anil Kumar Yadav in Assembly.

While the YSRCP government claimed to have saved over Rs 1000 crore through the reverse tendering of polavaram project, the TDP leaders are accusing that it would incur a loss of over Rs 7000 crore in the future.

Meanwhile, the government has called for reverse tendering for another housing project—Happy Nest Telecommunication project in the capital Amaravathi.