THE BEST BARGAIN IGR & CS MAKE WORLD RECORD IN TENDER NEGOTIATIONS

Firoz.T.Totanawala

The Bangalore Metro Reporter

1st July 2011 issue-

                             THE BEST BARGAIN

IGR & CS MAKE WORLD RECORD IN TENDER NEGOTIATIONS

In our last issue we had published the story about how the Tendering process to Computerize the Sub Registrar offices were manipulated by the respective concerned and liable authorities. The terms and conditions were tailor made to suit a particular bidder named CMS Ltd. and many other prominent bidders who also submitted the tenders were rejected by simply writing irrational, idiotic and false reasons.

Whatsoever, after the tenders were submitted and the favourite pre determined bidder selected, the department went through a historical record. How much could one expect a bidder to negotiate after he has quoted his rates in the tender? Never in a life one would have seen, heard or expected but the bidder CMS Ltd. reduced his rates with a massive margin after its quotation was selected.

The tender was called for undertaking the work required in the computerization of the Sub Registrar offices that is scanning the documents admitted for registration by the Sub Registrar, taking the photo and thumb impression of the parties and printing the registration details and certificate on the document and then to save the scanned image of the document in CD from. All this including the stationary, investment and administrative cost would not have costed more than Rs. 5/- per document containing an average 10 pages. However, CMS had quoted massive rates for the same in the tender. It had quoted mind boggling Rs. 52/- to Rs. 100/- per page for different districts that would sum up to Rs. 520/- to Rs. 1000/- per document containing an average 10 pages. Subsequently, if this rate was accepted by the department, the people would have had to pay Rs. 600 crores in the next five years.     

However, after the receipt and finalization of tender, there were embarrassing moments for the department officials as they were about to charge excessively high rates from the public. There was also fear of exposure of reality at any point of time which would invite the wrath of public and the political condition prevailing at that time. The department officials then decided to reduce the rates to certain extents.

To save the face, the department enacted a drama of calling the company for negotiations. Now, in the so called negotiations, the CMS Ltd. Company was called and it shockingly reduced its rates from 50 % to 75% which is unheard in the history of tenders or contracts. The company which had quoted Rs. 52/- to Rs. 100/- per page in the tender, surprisingly negotiated the rate at Rs. 30 per page. One could imagine the amount of manipulation, the quantum of kick-backs etc. with this arrangement itself.

Finally, the rate fixed for the computerization process of the Sub Registrar office between the department and the Company was negotiated at flat Rs. 30/- from the quoted Rs. 52/- to Rs. Rs. 100/- per page in the tender. This is perhaps the record breaking negotiation undertaken by any company. How is it possible for a company to reduce the rates so massively?

One can easily understand that the CMS Ltd. had intentionally over quoted in the Tender as it was the only company that had quoted for the Major Districts due to the tailor made conditions by the department that would only suit the CMS Ltd. Company. One can further understand that while CMS Ltd. had quoted between Rs. 52/- to Rs. 100/- in the Tender, another Company named ECIL, which had submitted Tender for Minor districts had quoted Rs. 8/- per page for the same work. Eventually, both ECIL and CMS Ltd. were awarded contacts with ECIL getting contact for Minor Districts at Rs. 25/- per page and CMS Ltd. begging the contact for Major Districts at Rs. 30/- per page.

Even these reduced rates are not a small deal and the contract is now worth 150 crores.

It is time that Government make a review of the computerization as proposed by the then IGR & CS and take stock of the on going computerization in the department.