Tenders for flood control works on hold

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, April 16

The Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department has put on hold tenders of about Rs 600 crore for wire created embankments to be put in place along the rivers of the state as a flood control measure. It has also sought a report on a controversial condition in the tenders that is allegedly aimed at eliminating competition and favouring a few contractors, sources said.

Dharminder Gill, Engineer-in-Chief, Projects, admitted that the government had ordered all tenders to be put on hold. He said that Secretary, IPH, Vikas Labroo had sought a report on the matter.

Action has been taken after the matter was reported in these columns. The department had recently floated tenders of about Rs 600 crore for wire created embankments for flood control along the rivers in the state. It put a condition that only those contractors, who had handled projects of 5 mm wire created embankments, would be eligible to bid for the tenders. This made contractors, who are working on wire created embankments in various parts of the state and in Punjab, ineligible to bid. The affected contractors alleged that generally the department floated tenders for creating embankments with 4 mm wire or even a more thick wire. The thickness of wire as the eligibility criterion for bidding for wire embankment projects was quite unusual, they said.

The sources said that most of the contractors, who had handled the work of 5 mm wire embankments, had worked on flood control works along the Swan river of Una district. Asked about the controversy, IPH Minister Mahinder Singh said, “Ask my Engineer-in-Chief about the matter”.

Report sought on controversial condition

The department authorities have sought a report on a controversial condition in the tenders that is allegedly aimed at eliminating competition and favouring a few contractors, sources said.