Serious concerns raised over below-rate bidding
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 22 2016 :
Different quarters have raised serious concerns over how some contractors have been execu-ting contract works after obtaining the same works by bidding much below the estimated costs.
According to information received from Government engineering departments, some contractors started bidding for contract works by quoting rates below the scheduled rates since a couple of years back.
Sources informed that contractors generally bid for contract works at rates which are higher by 1 to 3 per cent from the estimated costs worked out by engineers.
But nowadays, many contractors have been offering to execute contract works at the rates which are lower by even 30 per cent from the estimated costs, that too without compromising quality of the works.
There were instances when some contractors bid below the estimated costs by 3 to 5 per cent.
Emergence of a group of contractors who have been offering to execute contract works without compromising quality at the rates which are 30 per cent lower than the estimated costs is not a good sign.
They are quoting abnormally low rates as they are only concerned with obtaining the contract works, the sources said.
Estimates of contract works are not prepared randomly.
They are prepared by engineers after calculating all the requirements.
At the same time, authorities cannot simply reject when contractors submit bids at rates which are much lower than the estimated costs.
When a contractor offered to execute a contract work of estimated cost Rs 10 crore at just Rs 7 crore without compromising quality, authorities have hard time to reject the application.
However, when a contractor fails to fulfil the work agreement at the end of executing a contract work, there is a strong possibility of personal animosity creeping up between the contractor and concerned engineers.
On the other hand, execution of a contract work whose estimated cost is Rs 10 crore at Rs 7 crore means much reduced expenditure to the Government.
This may also lead to rendering the original estimate made by engineers as faulty necessitating preparation of a new one.
Government engineering departments have constructed roads, dams, retaining walls, bridges and buildings, and all these works were done in accordance to estimated costs prepared by engineers.
For preparation of estimated costs, there is State schedule rate.
Even though there is already a State schedule rate, there is an instruction to revise the schedule rate every year with regard to National Highway works so that they are executed more meticulously.
All Government engineering departments have been abiding by this State schedule rate and this is known to contractors as well.
Although they are aware about the State schedule rate, some contractors have been offering to execute contract works at rates much lower than the estimated costs.
As such, there is a growing need for engineers to supervise execution of contract works by these engineers in the most stringent manner.
Otherwise both the Government and the public may land in distress given the fact that Manipur is located in a highly active seismic zone, the sources added.