Elected, executive wings of AMC tussle over power to blacklist contractors

AHMEDABAD: The question of who has the authority to blacklist or bar contractors has shaken the administrative and political wings of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
The issue cropped up again, as a proposal to bar TUV SUD-South Asia from project management consultancy (PMC) for three years has been made ahead of the water and sewerage committee meeting on Wednesday with respect the sewerage network in Lambha ward.
On Monday, with respect to the 200 MLD water treatment plant in Jaspur, the AMC proposed to bar WAPCOS from PMC work for two years. This raises the question about who holds the authority to blacklist or bar contractors or PMC agencies. To date, a total of 928 contractors are registered to bid for tenders from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Over the past 17 years, more than 100 contractors have faced blacklisting.
Between 2005 and 2022, the corporation blacklisted 112 contractors, with 43 contractors or companies permanently blacklisted and 69 blacklisted for durations of one to three years. In 2023 alone, there were proposals to blacklist eight contractors, decisions on five of which are pending.
During the standing committee meeting on May 18, a proposal was put forth by the AMC to blacklist two contractors for five years. These contractors were responsible for delaying the construction of 20,000 EWS houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. One of the contractors, Jyoti Infratech Company, failed to complete 6,370 houses within the specified time frame, while the other contractor, Vande Mataram Projects Pvt. Ltd., fell behind schedule in delivering 593 houses across two projects. However, the question remains as to why all proposals regarding blacklisting of contractors for delays or irregularities are not presented to the standing committee.
“In the last three years, six PMC agencies have been barred, but these proposals were not brought before the water committee or the standing committee for approval. Instead, the commissioner issued a circular barring them,” said a senior AMC official.
He added, “The Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, has authorized the standing committee and the general body to take such penal action.” Shahzad Khan Pathan, the leader of the opposition in the corporation, expressed concerns at the lack of transparency within AMC. “According to the the GPMC Act, if the commissioner blacklists or bars a contractor by a circular, it should ideally pass through the standing committee, but these do not.”