19.0 Brief Introduction:
An open tender was published for Hiring of Engineers for 3 years to carry out Design Work on Shipbuilding Software Applications at Customer’s Premises i.e. New Delhi for its Shipbuilding Project Work under execution at MDL, Mumbai.
19.1 Background:
During the scrutiny of the files based on information from sources the Pre-Qualification Criteria was found to be discriminative. As per the pre-qualification criteria defined in the tender, the bidder agency should be a company registered under the Companies Act 1956 or Society, registered under ‘Society Registration Act 1860 or a Trust registered under Indian Trust Act. Another condition was mentioned as that the bidder should have an office in Mumbai and its adjoining area and Delhi. On detailed investigation, it was observed that the Pre-Qualification Criteria prevented partnerships firms and the firms who are not having offices in Mumbai though the man power was to be provided at New Delhi, from participating in the tender. It was also noted that a contract was already in place on a partnerships firm for same type of job in another Shipbuilding Project at New Delhi and it was being executed to the satisfaction of the customer.
19.2 Implementation:
After timely intervention of the Vigilance Department, the tender conditions were reviewed, modified and the completion was increased in the tender. The following Systemic Improvements were suggested and implemented.
(i) The pre-qualification criteria should not be too restrictive.
(ii) It should be framed commensurating the scope and nature of work.
(iii) The conditions in Pre-qualification criteria should be clear and specific without any ambiguity.
19.3 Impact and Benefits:
With reference to the Systemic Improvement as suggested and implemented w.r.t. Pre-qualification Criteria in Manpower Hiring Tenders, more competitive bids are received.