Is BBMP subverting High Court orders?

Is BBMP subverting High Court orders?
By Basavaraj Itnaal, DH News Service, Bangalore:
The restricting condition in the tender floated recently by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike for muncipal solid waste (MSW) management has promptly landed the local body in the court.


A clause in the tender notification bars existing contractors, their relatives and associates from competing in the tender process and this exclusion has invited judicial scrutiny.

The new tenders for enrolment of service providers for MSW management and street sweeping on an emergency basis in the event of force de majeure as a contingency for BBMP were floated by the office of joint commissioner of Health in July.

The Palike had entered into a three year contract with 30 service providers to collect, transport and dispose off MSW in March 2007. They were asked to introduce innovative measures like collection by auto tippers, use of compactors and mechanised street sweeping.

The new contracts are invited to appoint service providers in case of a force de majeure event.

Interestingly, even one year after operationalsing the contracts, Palike was not able to provide disposal sites as agreed and the contractors had been raising the issue with the officials. It is said that Palike, fearing that the service providers may not lift the garbage, floated new tenders with an exclusivity clause. Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Rules prevent only the blacklisted contractors from competing in the tender process.

The Palike seems to have adopted an ambivalent stand given the fact that while contesting a writ petition on an earlier occasion, it had said that that as along as the bidder met all the technical and financial conditions, it was immaterial whether competing bidders were relatives or not.

Disposal sites

New tender notification claims that the Palike has disposal sites at Mavallipura, Mandur and one near Terra Firma in Bannerghatta. While the first facility is operational, the second one is yet to start and the last one is closed down. Further, the tender assumes a transport distance of 140 km while all the disposal loacations are within a radius 45 kms. This can only invite escalated bids. What is still intriguing is that the bidders are expected to have solvency for Rs 10 lakh while they are not supposed to use any model of truck older than 2004. With every bidder expected to have atleast 5 trucks, the solvency is insufficient - Rs 10 lakh solvency may not be enough to buy even two trucks.

Sources in Palike admit that the sole motive in inviting new tenders is to harass the existing contractors pressing for provision of safety to their men and machine and adequate disposal facility.

The HC has already directed the Palike to provide disposal sites and ensure operational safety. Unable to comply with the court orders, BBMP has devised the strategy of inviting new tenders to settle scores with existing contractors.