MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena-led BEST committee on Tuesday “hurriedly” passed a Rs 85-crore contract for digital ticketing at the panel meeting and allegedly prevented BJP members in opposition benches to discuss or raise objections to the proposal.
BJP members have alleged there was “favouring” of contractor for the project. Prabhakar Shinde, BJP group leader (BMC), plans to move the Bombay high court against the panel’s decision to clear the contract without giving his party members a chance to speak.
"The BEST committee cleared eight proposals worth Rs 120 crore in three minutes on Tuesday. It should ideally place every single proposal for detailed discussion and scrutiny before clearing it as it involves crores of rupees of public money. There should be no room for doubt nor any allegations of proposals being hurriedly cleared for vested interests, and every panel member must be taken into confidence.-TimesView"
Senior BJP panel member Sunil Ganacharya told TOI, “BEST could have saved Rs 35 crore on the contract had it awarded the same to a vendor suggested by ASRTU (Association of State Road Transport Undertaking) which would have implemented the project at 7 paise per ticket. Instead, it went for the tendering process to finalise rates at 14 paise per ticket.” He said he was not allowed to speak/protest at the online meeting in which panel chairman Ashish Chemburkar cleared the proposal “in haste”.
Shinde alleged the BEST administration had ignored international companies. “Due to the criteria set for a particular contractor, only 3 out of 20 interested bidders participated in the tender. Companies with an annual turnover of over Rs 3,000 crore were disqualified by showing bogus reasons,” he said, adding that “the BEST committee cleared 8 proposals worth Rs 120 crore in three minutes. This is a record for corruption.”
Chemburkar denied all charges on behalf of BEST, saying the administration had followed “due diligence”. “Of 20 bids, three were qualified for technical bids and those who failed to submit proper documents and fulfil certain criteria were disqualified,” he said. Incidentally, BMC opposition leader Ravi Raja, who is from Congress, supported the BEST administration, saying all his apprehensions regarding the contract were addressed by BEST and he had no objection to the contract.
When contacted, BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra said ASRTU’s suggestion of the vendor did not fulfil the criteria/requirements. “Had we gone for an ASRTU vendor, the commuters would have paid more hidden charges for the digital tickets. Besides, the contract which was finalised also involves providing a detailed commuter-friendly app — which will help one book tickets from home before boarding the bus, check for crowding/seat availability in buses, plan routes, and also a security feature of SOS button for women commuters in distress. The pressing of the SOS button in the app will alert the BEST control room and the police to take necessary action,” he said, adding that the agency which won the bids will provide the detailed app.
The GM said the agency will also provide smartcards which will comply with the National Common Mobility card — one card for all modes of transport like buses, Metro, Railways, etc. “The firm will be monitored periodically for six years and if there is any fault, we can always penalise it during the contract period,” he said.
