Several tenders valued between 9 and 10 lakhs to avoid further approvals
Themodus operandi was very simple. Call for repair works of an existing road that wouldinclude items such as filling potholes, applying an asphalt coat etc. Call theworks periodical repairs or urgent repairs even urgent maintenance or immediaterepairs. The PWD Minister would ask for these unplanned works to be executed atthe earliest. The Division Executive Engineer would use his powers to executethe works. The powers in this case meant awarding work orders on tenders of thevalue upto Rs. 10 lakhs without anybody’s sanction.
InFatorda Constituency, PWD’s Division VI awarded a Rs. 9.50 lakh tender forrepair of gutters from Santosh Kurtarkar’s residence to Anil Lotlikar’sresidence, then another repair of gutters from Sudhakar Naik’s residence to VallabhKare’s house worth Rs. 9.45 lakhs. All these works are valued between Rs. 9 toRs. 10 lakhs. Of the 211 unplanned tenders awarded in 2010-11, in Margao andFatorda alone, the estimated cost of 44 tenders were between Rs 9 and 10 lakhs .The value of these tenders- Rs. 4.15 crores.
“Ofall the works tendered in the entiredivison (12 constituencies) almost one third would be non-planned. That wouldtotal upto Rs. 20 crores”, reveals Anil Ringane, Executive Engineer,Division VI.
Ringaneconfirmed to The Goan that he had the right to issue work orders to the tune ofRs. 10 lakhs without routing the tender through a works board or a tenderevaluation committee.
TheGoan’s own investigations reveal that often works would be just undervalued tonot touch Rs. 10 lakhs yet be very near to it. This was a killing that could gounchecked.
