Activist questions KDMC's STP tender conditions, says new contractors shut out

The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, or KDMC, has floated a tender to operate and maintain a sewage treatment plant, or STP, in the Chinchpada area of Kalyan East. Social activist Nitin Tare has alleged that the conditions set in the tender are so stringent that new contractors will not be able to take part in it. He said only select contracting companies can qualify for the tender, which would prevent the healthy competition required for such a process.

The civic body has issued the tender, worth about 8.5 crore rupees, through the Maha e-Tender system. The tender's main purpose is the operation and maintenance of the sewage treatment plant. However, Tare pointed out that the tender includes eligibility conditions tied to a contractor's prior experience and having previously executed works worth crores of rupees.

Tare claimed these conditions would make it difficult for contractors new to the sector to take part in the tender process, and that this would restrict competition to a few older or larger contracting firms. He said that if more eligible contractors were allowed to participate, competition would increase, giving the corporation a chance to get the work done at more competitive rates. He has therefore demanded that the conditions relating to experience and the monetary value of past works be reconsidered.

Nitin Tare has demanded that the civic administration either cancel the current tender or relax its conditions and reissue it. He said this would allow new eligible contractors to participate and ensure healthy competition in the tender process. It has not been independently established that the tender conditions were set specifically to benefit a select few contractors. The picture on why these eligibility conditions were included, and whether they are technically necessary, will become clearer once the KDMC administration responds on the issue.