Nashik Municipal Corporation's Rs 237 crore city sanitation contract is currently mired in controversy. The hearing in this case has been completed in the Bombay High Court, and the court has reserved the verdict. The municipal administration has clarified that further action will be taken only after the court verdict.
Tender process and controversy:
When the municipality published the tender, a total of 13 contractors participated in it. Out of them, nine were eliminated in the preliminary round, while Global Konark, the currently operating Water Grace, and Lion contractors were qualified. For the next stage of technical inspection, the municipal corporation has set 70 marks for documents and 30 marks for presentation. However, the technical inspection of all three contractors is still pending. Discussions are ongoing about this contract for many reasons. The hearing of this case was held on July 25 and August 1. After hearing both sides on August 1, the court has reserved the verdict. Therefore, a decision is expected from the court in the next few days.
The municipal corporation will sign this agreement to outsource the services of 1775 sanitation workers for five years. However, questions are constantly being raised about the cost of the agreement and the transparency of the process. Notably, in 2020, the municipal corporation had spent Rs 74 crore on sanitation. Many have objected to this as this expenditure has tripled in just four years.
Contract of Rs 178 crores at Rs 237 crores:
The agreement was initially limited to Rs 178 crore. However, due to preparations for the upcoming Simhastha Kumbh Mela, it was directly increased to Rs 237 crore. The tender process for this agreement is being carried out by the municipal corporation's solid waste management department. Objecting to some of the terms and conditions in this process, Water Grace Company approached the High Court. The term of this agreement expired in August 2023. However, the current contractor was given six extensions due to various reasons. Meanwhile, the deadline for submitting a new tender was July 10. Subsequently, Water Grace filed a petition in the court while the tender scrutiny and selection process was still going on. Therefore, the entire process is now dependent on the court order.
