Madurai: Contractors are requesting the government to bring back the ‘open tender’ procedure for maintenance works in the Public Works Department and Water Resources Department.
Madurai District Public Works Contractors Association Secretary Murugan, Members Ganesan, Prabhu said:
Until 2014, politicians never interfered in the minor maintenance work of the Public Works Department. They were receiving only tenders above Rs.1 crore. Notices are pasted on the notice board about the ‘tender’ for the jobs of the respective section in the public works department. Contractors will take us in. We have divided it equally so that everyone gets a chance. Now they have changed the procedure based on ‘package’. A lot of maintenance works and new works are also released as a single tender.
In this manner, Rs 2.5 crore was allocated to the Madurai Commercial Tax Office and Rs 4.5 crore for the maintenance of Circuit House. Small contractors like us have been hit hard as it has gone to a single contractor. The tender date was postponed as we appealed about this. We will employ local workers if we announce an ‘open tender’ as small contractors. We are ready to work. But the authorities are not ready to give the tender. Politicians refuse to give us a chance, saying that they give ‘tender’ only to those who tell them.
The Water Resources Department has not awarded us a tender for even one maintenance work for a year. If this continues, we will have to go abroad for work. They said that if we announce an ‘open tender’ for the job separately for each section, we will get the job.
Subscribe Dinamalar channel for new news
Advertisement
