PANAJI
The Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has invited tenders to appoint an agency for organising a national conference on “Goan Architecture & Sustainability – Heritage, Climate Resilience & the Goa Model of Sustainable Building” in New Delhi on July 31, raising questions over its role in conducting the event.
The tender notice states that only agencies empanelled with the Department of Information and Publicity (DIP) are eligible to participate. This has drawn attention as such activities are generally handled directly by the DIP and not by GSIDC, which mainly deals with infrastructure projects.
The decision to hold the conference in the national capital has also raised questions among observers.
As per the notice, bids have to be submitted by July 15, with the tenders scheduled to be opened on July 16. The earnest money deposit has been fixed at Rs 4 lakh, while the tender document costs Rs 12,000.
Payments are to be made through NEFT, RTGS or internet banking, with the deposit also allowed through fixed deposit receipts or bank guarantees.
The conference aims to highlight Goa’s architectural heritage and sustainable building practices.
However, the choice of GSIDC as the nodal agency has led to questions about the arrangement.
While the tender restricts participation to DIP-empanelled agencies, GSIDC itself is stepping into a role usually associated with publicity and event management.
The notice states that GSIDC reserves the right to accept or reject bids without assigning reasons.
The entire tender process will be conducted online through the GSIDC e-tender portal.
The decision to have GSIDC oversee a publicity-oriented conference and the choice of New Delhi as the venue have raised questions that remain unanswered.
