BMC terms for road works drive contractors away

November 26, 2013

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MUMBAI: Two road repair contracts worth Rs 170 crore have failed to receive any bids. Contractors said the conditions set by the BMC were not practical.Despite the BMC extending the dates for submission of bids, no contractor showed interest. Monday was the last day to apply.

The contracts, worth Rs 73 crore and Rs 97 crore, are for road repairs in the eastern suburbs and the island city.

The eastern suburbs are the most in need of attention after failing to get a single new road last year because of a court case.

Now, the boycott of sorts by contractors means people must continue suffering bumpy rides on the roads. As the tendering process is back to square one, many fear that the works would not get done even by next monsoon, the time of the year when roads suffer the most.

The municipal corporation now needs to decide whether to give some more time to contractors or go for a relook at the tender conditions.

Contractors said the municipal corporation had, for the first time, increased the defect liability period for cement-concrete roads to 10 years from five years and contractors were expected to keep a bank guarantee for 11.5 years, which included 15 months of project execution and 10 years ofthe defect liability period.

“The BMC every year changes norms and clauses to bid for tenders,” a contractor said. “So far this year the municipal corporation has issued four tender packets; the corporation has not allowed a joint venture in three packets and allowed a joint venture in the fourth packet. How can they have different rules for each packet?”

A source said that BMC rules allowed for joint ventures in projects that are worth more than Rs 25 crore, so it was illogical to not allow joint ventures in road projects.

Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com