BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta had expressed his unhappiness with pace of pothole repairs in Bengaluru when he was administrator. One of the movement was captured in camera when he had lost control on Traffic engineering cell's executive engineer Shrinivas (Shrinivas is currently in the line of fire as he invited tenders for pothole filling and is facing allegation to favour contractor who was not eligible). Also seen is Road Infrastructure Chief Engineer BS Prahallad.
Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta goes by TVCC report which confirms TheBengaluruLive’s exposé that a Toyota Fortuner was passed off as a tipper by the winning bidder
TVCC report also refers to Traffic Engineering Cell’s ‘wrongful’ disqualification of JMC Constructions
BENGALURU:
In an unmistakeable slap on the face of BBMP’s own Traffic Engineering Cell, Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta has accepted the report of the Technical Vigilance Committee (TVCC) on the flawed result of the tender pertaining to the hot-mix plant at Kannur village. Simultaneously, Gupta has ordered a fresh tender for operation and maintenance of the plant, from where hot-mix is used to keep Bengaluru’s roads pothole-free.
The dramatic decision of the BBMP chief follows the May 27 exposé by TheBengaluruLive of the wrongful award of the contract by the TEC to Dhananjaya BS of Nikshep Infra Projects. Dhananjaya had uploaded details of a Fortuner car (KA04MN0441 — see pics) under the guise of a tipper.
Read Here: Fortuner car turns ‘tipper’ to bag Rs 270-crore tender for pothole-filling in Bengaluru! https://thebengalurulive.com/fortuner-car-turns-tipper-to-bag-rs-270-crore-tender-for-pothole-filling-in-bengaluru/
Earlier, on the directions of BBMP Administrator Rakesh Singh, who is also Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development Department), Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta had ordered a TVCC inquiry.
Read Here: Fortuner-turned-‘tipper’ scam: BBMP Administrator orders vigilance cell probe https://thebengalurulive.com/fortuner-turned-tipper-scam-bbmp-administrator-orders-vigilance-cell-probe/
TVCC’s in-charge Chief Engineer AB Doddaiah on Tuesday personally submitted the 16-page report to the Chief Commissioner. Speaking to TheBengaluruLive, Gupta confirmed that he had accepted the TVCC report and that “on the basis of lapses found, I have ordered a re-tender.” The same directions have been issued to the Road Infrastructure wing’s engineers.
Not only does the TVCC report vindicate the TheBengaluruLive story on the Fortuner car being passed off as a ‘tipper’, it notes that as per the tender requirements, documents of six tippers had to be submitted but only five documents were uploaded by the winning bidder. However, the TVCC report has recommended confirmation of the car’s registration details from the department concerned. (Bengaluru’s vernacular daily ‘Prajavani’ had carried a similar story but without any mention of a Fortuner car.)
Read Here: Fortuner-turned-‘tipper’ scam: How did a one-year-old company become eligible for BBMP’s Rs 270-crore pothole-filling tender? https://thebengalurulive.com/fortuner-turned-tipper-scam-how-did-a-one-year-old-company-become-eligible-for-bbmps-rs-270-crore-pothole-filling-tender/
Dubious disqualification
TheBengaluruLive had also reported how contractor A Mohan Narasimhulu (JMC Constructions Pvt Ltd) was wrongly disqualified only because, as per the TEC, “the agency has procured a work order for widening of Ballari Road and Jayamahal Road but has yet to start the work.” The TEC had added that the High Density Corridor work (awarded to Narasimhulu) was progressing at a snail’s pace. It had noted that “since road maintenance work is to be carried out on a daily basis with due diligence and is of a time-bound nature, it is not desirable to consider (Narasimhulu) in the technical bid.” The TVCC noted in its report that the TEC had not enclosed any supporting documents in its assessment of the contractor. Further, the TEC had not mentioned in its tender notification that a ‘non-performing’ contractor would not be considered, and neither was that reason mentioned while disqualifying the contractor.
Also Read: Fortuner-turned-‘tipper’ scam: TVCC not to rely on Road Infrastructure engineers’ inputs https://thebengalurulive.com/fortuner-turned-tipper-scam-tvcc-not-to-rely-on-road-infrastructure-engineers-inputs/
TVCC’s take on contractors
The TVCC further mentioned that contractors Dhananjay BS, BB Umesh, Munivenkatappa Venkatachalapathy and Satish were not eligible to participate in tenders. The TVCC report also mentioned that Dhananjay had to provide six tippers’ details but submitted documents of only five tippers. Neither did he own a milling machine, which was one of the conditions for contractors to participate in the tender. Despite this, Dhananjay’s bid was okayed while JMC Constructions, which had submitted documents showing that it owned milling machines, was disqualified.
Taking all these points into consideration, the TVCC report recommended a re-tender, which has been accepted by Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta.
Will Gupta act against TEC head?
With the TVCC report indicating that the entire tender process was manipulated to benefit one contractor, all eyes are now on the Chief Commissioner to see what kind of action he initiates against the Traffic Engineering Cell’s Executive Engineer Shrinivas, who was the tender inviting authority. Shrinivas, a PWD engineer on BBMP deputation, is scheduled to retire from the service in a few months.
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