Concerns over tender process raised, BMC panel clears 1,666cr Malad bridge contract

Mumbai: BMC's standing committee has approved a Rs 1,666-crore BMC contract for a bridge and elevated road in Malad West despite concerns being raised by members over the tender process.A joint venture of J Kumar-RPS won the tender even though it placed a bid of Rs 2,290 crore—1.8% higher than the BMC's estimate of Rs 2,250 crore—after it invoked the right of first refusal (ROFR), a clause that gives a party priority to match the lowest bidder's offer. L&T had made the lowest bid of Rs 1,666 crore. Some members of the standing committee questioned the ROFR clause and the bid being below the civic estimate. They also asked if escalation of costs would be allowed to make up for the loss through the low bid. MNS corporator Yashwant Killedar sought a clarification on the grounds for granting the ROFR clause and whether it was backed by a govt resolution or a statutory provision. He said the administration had allowed a "backdoor entry" for the J Kumar-RPS joint venture through the clause. He questioned the feasibility of executing the work at a price lower than the civic body's estimate and wondered if the administration had shown favouritism and planned to later inflate the contract value through cost escalations and variations. Shiv Sena member Yamini Jadhav, too, sought to know how the joint venture would be able to carry out the work at such a low rate. BMC officials had earlier told TOI that ROFR was granted to offset a Rs 350-crore claim raised by J Kumar after the civic body scrapped an elevated road project from Eastern Freeway (Orange Gate) to Grant Road in south Mumbai that had been awarded to the firm. "Were it not granted, the firm's claim would have ended in arbitration, on which BMC would have ended up spending a large sum. We had to award work of an equal size to the firm. We have not bypassed the competitive bidding process," a senior civic official had then said.The project involves construction of a vehicular bridge and elevated road over Ramchandra nullah connecting MDP Road to Ryan International School in Malad, and another bridge linking Lagoon Road to Infiniti Mall.