No bidders for 4th time, Ludhiana MC re-tenders waste mgmt, road sweeping projects

For the fourth consecutive time, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) has failed to attract any bidder for its two major projects, integrated solid waste management and mechanised road sweeping, worth over Rs 1,500 crore. Officials said the civic body has again re-tendered both projects two days ago and extended the deadline for submission of bids till May 18.

The repeated failure to find bidders has raised serious concerns over project planning and execution, even as the city continues to struggle with poor waste management and unclean roads.

Superintending Engineer Sham Lal Gupta said: “Projects have been re-tendered and earlier, no bid was received so after making minor changes, we have re-floated the tenders till May 18.”

The waste management project is aimed at ensuring scientific collection, segregation, transportation and processing of municipal waste generated in the city. It includes setting up of processing plants, handling of legacy waste and improving overall waste disposal systems. The project is considered crucial as Ludhiana generates a large quantity of solid waste daily, much of which is currently dumped without proper treatment, leading to environmental and health concerns.

The mechanised road sweeping project, on the other hand, is intended to deploy modern machines for cleaning major roads across the city. The plan was to replace manual sweeping on key stretches with automated systems to improve efficiency and reduce dust pollution.

The largest component is the Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) project. Initially floated at Rs 3,300 per tonne, the tender did not attract any bids. The MC revised the rate to Rs 4,221 per tonne, bringing the total estimated eight-year project cost to over Rs 1,400 crore. Earlier, the estimated cost of the project was over Rs 1,244 crore.

Road sweeping tenders have seen similar escalations. The internal road sweeping contract covering roughly 2,500 km has been re-floated at Rs 1,800 per km, more than double the previous Rs 867 per km rate, with a total three-year cost of nearly Rs 70 crore. The main road sweeping tender has jumped from Rs 827 per km to Rs 2,500 per km for 697 km, bringing the total estimated expenditure to Rs 80 crore. It comes despite the MC already operating its own machinery and outsourcing sweeping for 153 km to a private company.

Both project escalations were done in previous tenders when they were floated. The projects have been in the pipeline for a long time and were projected as key steps towards improving the city’s sanitation under national cleanliness initiatives. However, despite multiple attempts, the tenders have failed to draw any response from private players.

Sources said certain conditions in tender documents, financial viability concerns and risk-sharing clauses could be among reasons discouraging bidders. Though officials claim that “minor changes” have been made, it remains unclear whether these modifications will be enough to attract participation this time.

The delay in finalising these projects has already impacted the city’s cleanliness. Garbage handling remains inefficient and many areas continue to face irregular lifting of waste. The absence of mechanised sweeping has meant continued dependence on manual systems, which are often inadequate for a city of Ludhiana’s size. With the deadline now extended till May 18, all eyes are on whether the fourth attempt will finally see bidders coming forward.