Bidder selected illegally for quarry lease in N'pada Tuesday, 18 August 2020 | AJIT PANDA | NUAPADA

 https://www.dailypioneer.com/2020/state-editions/bidder-selected-illegally-for-quarry-lease-in-n-pada.html

Conflicting stands taken by the Sub Collector, Nuapada and the tehsil level tender selection committee, Khariar in selecting successful bidders for leasing out of Rishigaon stone quarry-1 in Khariar tehsil has led to suspicion over the fairness of the tendering process.

The tender committee of Khariar tehsil, by taking the view that non submission of money receipt of cost of tender paper alongwith bid application would make the application invalid, had rejected the application of one of the bidders Ritesh Agrawal and notified Manoj Tiwari as the successful bidder. However, the Sub-Collector, Nuapada bypassing the decision of the committee, has issued instructions to the Tehsildar to select Agrawal as successful bidder.

Tender notification as advertised in newspapers for lease of the stone quarry stated that money receipt is one of the mandatory bid documents to be submitted with tender application. A total of three aspirants had filed tender applications for the quarry. Agrawal quoted the highest price followed by Tiwari but following the mandatory features as notified in the advertisement, the tender committee considered Agrawal's application invalid on the ground of non submission of money receipt and selected Tiwari as the successful bidder. This was even notified in the official notice board of the tehsil office on July 30.

As a rule, the Tehsildar, within a week, should have intimated Tiwari in form F about the selection and to fulfill other formalities. However,  two weeks after the selection, the Tehsildar, Khariar vide her letter No. 2347 informed Tiwari that the intimation in form F could not be issued as the higher authority directed her not to issue the intimation.

"Form F was to be issued to you vide this office letter No.2296, dated 5.8.2020, but as per direction of higher authority the intimation in form F could not be delivered to you," stated the Tehsildar in her letter to Tiwari on August 14. The Tehsildar further stated in her letter that, she had been instructed by the Sub-collector, Nuapada to select Agrawal as the successful bidder.

This correspondent, when wanted to know from the Collector and the Sub-Collector, Nuapada through Whatsapp message, whether the step to alter the decision of the tender selection committee was genuine, the Sub-Collector stated that the mention of money receipt in the application form is also a valid tender because the same office had issued money receipt. Tiwari, however, has sensed manipulation in the selection process. "The OPWD Code and office memorandum issued by Works Department from time to time clearly mentions that submission of money receipt is mandatory; thus the decision of the Sub Collector to alter the decision of the selection committee is illegal and I will contest the decision in the court," said Tiwari.

"If the higher authority felt that the decision of the tender committee was wrong, he should have given me an opportunity of putting my argument instead of taking the decision arbitrarily and in an one-sided manner," added he.