PANJIM: A day before Model Code of Conduct for Lok Sabha elections came into force, the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) issued purchase order to three MSMEs for fabrication of 50 bus bodybuilding even as two of them do not have Type Approval Certificate, a mandatory requirement for registration of vehicles and for overall worthiness for ensuring safety of the passengers.
The KTCL awarded tenders to Ultratech Automotive Pvt Ltd, Verna to build bus bodies for 24 semi-luxury buses, Aero Coach, Bethora for fabrication of 13 luxury buses and Shree Damodar Coach Crafts Pvt Ltd, Bicholim for building 13 A/c sleeper coaches.
Barring Shree Damodar Coach Crafts Pvt Ltd, Bicholim, the two other MSMEs namely Ultratech Automotive Pvt Ltd, Verna and the Aero Coach, Bethora do not have Type Approval Certificate.
In September 2023, the KTCL invited tender for 50 bus bodybuilding i.e. 13 buses of 45-seater luxury, 24 buses of 54-seater semi-luxury and 13 buses A/c sleeper coaches.
Ultratech Automotive Pvt Ltd, Verna, Aero coach, Bethora, Shree Damodar Coach Crafts Pvt Ltd, Bicholim and the Automobile Corporation of Goa Ltd (ACGL), Honda had submitted their bids.
The ACGL was the lowest bidder in both types of seater buses (semi-luxury and luxury) while Shree Damodar Coach Crafts was the lowest for the fabrication and mounting of sleeper coaches. But the KTCL pointed to the Official Gazette issued by the Union Ministry of MSME, which stated that if any MSME bidder is within the 15 per cent price of lowest bidder then the respective MSME should be awarded the purchase order for at least 25 per cent of tendered number of buses, subject to matching to price of the lowest bidder.
This circular benefitted the MSMEs even as the Damodar Coach Crafts had bagged the tender for bus body building of sleeper coaches by being the lowest bidder and also had the Type Approval Certificate.
In its first tender document in June 2023, the KTC had made the requirement of Type Approval Certificate mandatory.
But the same tender was withdrawn and refloated in September last year by changing the criteria of awarding the tender to the lowest bidder.
Two public-spirited citizens Swapnesh Sherlekar and Pravinsingh Shedgaonkar, in a representation to the KTCL had urged it to refrain from issuing any work order against the Tender-2 requirement and to refloat the tender after including the requirement for the type approval certificate compulsory.
They had also written to the Director of Transport to issue necessary instructions to the KTCL for ensuring compliance at the time of registration of the vehicles to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, while making new procurements.
When contacted, KTCL general manager Narayan Naik confirmed that the purchase order was issued to the three MSMEs. “We already sent them Registered AD,” he said, adding that the requirement of type approval certificate was not an issue.
“It (type approval certificate) was not an issue for us at all. We had already specified it in the second tender. It was an issue created by some people,” said Naik.
On the other hand, social activist Swapnesh Sherlekar told O Heraldo that the KTCL management is playing with the safety of people by tweaking the requirement of type approval certificate in the tender document.
The KTCL has compromised with the quality standards of public transportation vehicles to favour few. This is corruption and we will drag the KTCL to Court,” he said.