Chennai, Aug 29:
The Greater Chennai Corporation floated an unprecedented 14,543 tenders during the last financial year, more than three times its usual annual tender volume, prompting the civic body to scrutinise works for procedural and financial irregularities.
Corporation Commissioner G.S. Sameeran told the Council on Friday that the civic body normally floated around 4,000 to 4,500 tenders in a financial year.
The sharp increase came amid concerns raised by councillors over cancellation of works and tenders and projects allegedly taken up without completing the required administrative and financial procedures.
Responding to questions from councillors, Sameeran explained that every development work should first have financial provision and administrative sanction before being entered into the Corporation’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
A tender is subsequently required to be called, placed before the tender committee and awarded to an eligible bidder. This should be followed by a Letter of Award and a formal work order.
The Commissioner said bills could be processed for works that had followed the prescribed procedure.
However, works undertaken without the necessary approvals or beyond the sanctioned budget could face difficulties in payment.
He said the Corporation had identified more than 1,000 files that could involve procedural issues and that these would be scrutinised.
âWe will scrutinise that; we will take action,â Sameeran told the Council, while explaining the unusually high tender volume during the previous financial year.
Road-cut charges
The Council discussion also brought the issue of road-cut charges payable by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) into focus.
DMK Standing Committee chairperson C. Velu suggested that instead of reassessing property tax, the Corporation could collect pending road-cut charges from Metrowater.
Sameeran said CMWSSB was expected to pay more than âč3,500 crore to the Corporation towards road-cut charges.
He explained that works under the Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam should not be delayed because of the payment issue and that Metrowater had been permitted to undertake road-cutting works in anticipation of the required approvals.
According to the Commissioner, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) currently did not have sufficient funds to settle the amount immediately.
He said the Corporation had nevertheless allowed the works in the public interest and had insisted that the amount be obtained from the CMDA and handed over to the Corporation.
âč100 crore monsoon preparedness
The Corporation has also earmarked âč100 crore for monsoon preparedness, according to the Commissioner.
The allocation includes âč22.45 crore for desilting, âč15 crore for immediate road repairs and âč4 crore for procuring high-capacity desilting machines.
Another âč10 crore has been earmarked for emergency and essential works, while âč26 crore has been allocated for hiring high-capacity pump motors.
A further âč15 crore has been set aside for other monsoon-related works.
Sameeran said administrative sanction had been accorded for the works and that they were at different stages of tendering and execution.
The tender controversy assumes significance as the Corporation faces a massive workload of infrastructure and maintenance projects across the city, particularly ahead of the northeast monsoon.
The Commissionerâs disclosure of 14,543 tenders â against the normal 4,000â4,500 â has also put the spotlight on the Corporation’s procurement procedures, financial sanctions and the need to ensure that civic works are undertaken only after completing the prescribed administrative process.