Chennai Corporation floated over 14,500 tenders last year, says Commissioner

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) floated more than 14,500 tenders in the last financial year, against the usual 4,000 to 4,500, Commissioner G.S. Sameeran told the Council on Friday, as it raised concerns over the cancellation of works and tenders.

Responding to questions by the DMK and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi regarding tenders floated without due procedures, Mr. Sameeran said the development works should be checked for financial provision and administrative sanction before being registered in the Corporation’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. A tender should then be called, placed before the tender committee, and awarded to the eligible bidder, followed by a Letter of Award and work order, he said. “The bill will rightly reach all the works that follow this [correct] procedure,” he said. Works undertaken without the required approvals or beyond the budgetary allocation could face difficulties in payment, he added.

Mr. Sameeran further said there could be more than 1,000 files involving procedural issues. “We will scrutinise that; we will take action… Because in the last financial year, the Corporation called for 14,543 tenders. Usually, the [Chennai] Corporation calls for 4,000 to 4,500 tenders.”

He said a separate committee constituted by the Finance Department was auditing the works.

DMK Standing Committee chairperson C. Velu said that instead of the property tax reassessment, the Corporation could have collected pending road cut charges from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB).

Mr. Sameeran said the works undertaken for CMWSSB’s Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam should proceed without any lag, and so, in anticipation of approval, the CMWSSB had been asked to take up the road cuts. “They must pay almost over ₹3,500 crore to the GCC for all road cut charges from the CMDA. But, the CMDA doesn’t have funds. Nevertheless, Metrowater’s work is also public work. To avoid lag, works have been permitted considering public interest. I have insisted that they get that money from the CMDA and hand it over to the Corporation as soon as possible,” he said.

The GCC has allocated ₹100 crore for monsoon-related preparatory work, he said. This includes ₹22.45 crore for desilting, ₹15 crore for immediate road repairs, and ₹4 crore for high-capacity desilting machines, ₹10 crore for emergency and essential works, ₹26 crore for hiring high-capacity pump motors, and ₹15 crore for other works. Administrative sanction has been given and the works are at various stages of tendering and execution, he added.