BBMP to float fresh tender for remaining portion of Rs 204-crore project
BENGALURU:
Chastened by the observations of the Karnataka High Court, the state government has cancelled the tender awarded to Simplex Infrastructure Ltd for the construction of a flyover between Ejipura Main Road and Kendriya Sadan in Koramangala. Consequently, BBMP has started the process of floating a new tender for the project.
An order of the Urban Development Department earlier this month said the company would forfeit its security deposit of Rs 10.16 crore. In the five years after the Rs 204-crore project was awarded to Simplex, less than half of the work – 42.83 per cent, to be precise – has been completed.
MLA’s query
The government’s announcement in the Karnataka assembly came after BTM Layout Congress MLA and former Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy sought a reply on the issue from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who also holds the Bengaluru development portfolio.
According to senior BBMP officials, in keeping with the HC’s directive, an FIR will be filed against Simplex. With the cancellation of the tender, BBMP engineers will reassess the construction and financial aspect of the project, including work already done and pending. The process is likely to take another month. By its order, the UDD has directed the civic agency to float a fresh tender for the unfinished part of the project within the project cost of Rs 204 crore as per the rules of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act.
ಇದನ್ನೂ ಓದಿ: ಈಜಿಪುರ ಮೇಲ್ಸೇತುವೆ 5 ವರ್ಷವಾದರೂ ಶೇ.50ರಷ್ಟೂ ಕೆಲಸವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ; ಗುತ್ತಿಗೆ ರದ್ದುಗೊಳಿಸಿದ ಸರ್ಕಾರ
Work on the 2.5 km-long flyover was taken up in May 2017 and the deadline ended in November 2019.
Following the delay, BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta had written to the UDD for cancellation of the tender. The Palike found that funds released for the project were being diverted by the company to other projects. Thereupon, BBMP opened an escrow account to prevent diversion of funds. As per senior officials, up to September 2021 bills amounting to Rs 75 crore were cleared.
BBMP had sent several warnings to the company for not meeting the revised deadlines. Due to the inordinate delay on the flyover, local MLA and former Minister Ramalinga Reddy had led local residents in a protest on the issue.
Also Read: Four years on, Ejipura-Sony World Junction Elevated Corridor still a work in progress
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