Cancel closed limited tenders, NGO urges Chennai Corpn

CHENNAI: Pointing out closed limited tenders are being used for high value tenders instead of low value tenders leading to corruption, Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-graft organisation urged the Greater Chennai Corporation to cancel such tenders that were floated recently.

In a complaint to Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Chennai Corporation Commissioner, Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of the organisation, said: "Off late, we are finding that a lot of tenders instead of being floated as open e-tenders, are being floated as closed limited tenders in Chennai Corporation."

The complaint listed 72 such closed limited tenders floated in months of December 2022 and January 2023 that ranging from anywhere between Rs. 46 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh. "Tenders for a total of Rs 12.7 crore have been floated as closed limited tenders. If you include those limited tenders within Rs 10 lakh as well, the total tender value of all limited tenders in last two months is around Rs 32 crore," he said.

The complaint pointed out that in closed tenders, the officials call for bids from 2 to 3 select bidders. Closed limited tenders may be used for very low value tenders such as less than Rs. 1 lakh. "But when you use them for high value tenders, they are primarily used to prefix for a specific person for a bribe of anywhere between 10 and 15 per cent of the tender value. We also flind that a lot of councillor's fund is being floated as these closed limited tenders and we learn thay this is being done to get easy bribe money. This will also result in huge loss or exchequer," he alleged.

Jayaram also urged the Commissioner to cancel all the tenders and float end-to-end e-tenders for high value tenders.