Call For Fresh Tender In Sewage Treatment Plant

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded that the Coimbatore Corporation call for fresh tenders for the implementation of the project for two sewage treatment plants. The plants are to be established at Rs.89 crore, as part of the Rs.377-crore underground drainage scheme that will be implemented under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The company accepted for the project in Coimbatore was rejected by the Madurai Corporation.

In a letter to Member of Parliament and Chairman of Standing Committee on Urban Development Mohammed Salim, leader of the CPI (M) in the Coimbatore Corporation Council C. Padmanabhan has said the tender already chosen and approved in the Council had a lot of discrepancies.

Mr. Padmanabhan, who is the Corporation’s North Zone Chairman, has requested the intervention of the Mr. Salim as the mission came under the Union Ministry of Urban Development. The councillor called for steps from the committee for fresh tenders by contending that despite the discrepancies, the bid was passed by claiming that it had the approval of the majority in the Council. (The CPI-M, Communist Party of India, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam opposed the resolution and staged a protest in the Council.

It was, however, passed using the combined strength of the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and some Independent councillors.) Providing details of the entire project, the letter said that the detailed project report for the drainage scheme was prepared by a Hyderabad-based company. But, it was not placed in the Council for its approval. The report was not complete in all aspects of the scheme.

Only national-level bids were invited by specifically mentioning that the Only national-level bids were invited by specifically mentioning that the Cyclic Activated Sludge Process (CASP) technology would be used (CASP) technology would be used. Had international-level bids been invited, there would have been an opportunity to know of cost-effective alternative technologies.

The bid for one of the plants was submitted by a Pune-based company, at a rate that was 28 per cent more than the project estimate. Some other companies too had submitted bids that quoted rates higher than the estimate. Instead of sending these to the Tender Awarding Committee of the State Government for finalisation, efforts were made for a decision at the level of the Corporation Council. To enable this, the bid had been ‘negotiated and finalised’ with a rate that was 4.88 per cent higher than the estimate.

The councillor complained that the operation and maintenance of the plants had also been awarded to the same company at a cost higher than what was estimated. The treatment plants project was being implemented in more than 100 cities. But, nowhere had the Coimbatore Corporation’s project report mentioned which were the cities that adopted the CASP technology. Nothing had been said about how long the technology was in use and what were its advantages and disadvantages.

The company accepted for the project in Coimbatore was rejected by the Madurai Corporation.The one rejected here had been accepted in Madurai, the councillor alleged. Alleging corruption in the treatment plants project, the letter pointed out that the Local Fund Audit Committee of the Coimbatore Corporation had recommended inviting fresh tenders. But, this had not been disclosed to the elected Council.

A high fee fixed for using the sewers to be provided under the scheme was the consequence of the choice of the technology for sewage treatment. The CASP method was highly power-consuming. The financial burden was sought to be passed on to the people in the form of a huge user charge that was not even discussed in the Council despite a Government Order in October last year.

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