MARGAO
Margao Municipal Council’s long-delayed multi-level parking project has again hit a road block, but for a different reason.
If there were no takers for the Rs 6.5 crore parking project when it was first tendered last month, the civic body has now decided to scrap the tender after extending the time-frame for the contractor to submit their bids and float a fresh one.
Given that the project is required to be e-tendered in view of its huge cost, sources said that the tender could not be opened the second time due to some procedural wrangles. The MMC has now no idea whether any bidder has submitted bids for the project when the civic body had extended the time-frame by a fortnight.
Officials in the know say the MMC has been anxiously waiting for the officials to come and help open the e-tender, but in vain. Having waited for a number of days now, the MMC has now decided to tender the project afresh by calling for fresh bids. “There’s been certain procedural issues that have cropped up in the opening of the e-tender. For the last couple of days, the e-tender could not be opened for reasons attributed to the procedures,” sources said.
Sources, however, said that re-tendering of the multi-level parking project would further cause a delay in the execution of the project, which has been conceived in a bid to overcome the burning issue of parking in the commercial capital.
It is feared that the project may be hit a block again with the election code of conduct expected anytime by year-end or early January. If an official is to be believed, there may be further delay in the execution of the project in the event the tendering process is not completed before the election code of conduct comes into force. Or else, the MMC will have to wait for the election process to end by February-end or March, sources said.
Foundation stone for the multi-level parking project was first laid around six years ago in the year 2015 before the proposal was hit by a host of factors, including the introduction of GST. The project was tendered around two months ago after it was hit by procedural wrangles since the last three years. Work on the project, however, could not take off since no bidder turned up to take up the work, leaving the civic body with no option than to extend the time-frame for a fortnight.
