Karnataka Home Secretary D Roopa claimed on Saturday that Hemant Nimbalkar was trying to favor a private company. me
IPS official Hemant Nimbalkar said on Sunday that the bidding process in the Bengaluru Safe City Project, from several countries, was not biased amid allegations of irregularities in the bidding process. Karnataka Home Secretary D Roopa had alleged on Saturday that there were irregularities in the tender called for the project, in particular that Hemant Nimbalkar was trying to favor a private company.
Hemant Nimbalkar is the Chairman of both the Invitation to Bids Committee and the Bid Control Committee of the project. EY is a multinational professional services network that was preparing the request for proposal document (tender document) in consultation with the tender committee.
At a press conference on Sunday, Hemant Nimbalkar stated that the bidding process is unbiased: “There is no bidder (for the project) at this time as the final date (for submission of bids) is January 8. Technical tenders will be opened and quality and cost will be considered. Then the prequalification and technical qualification will be verified and they will be asked to give proof of concept. “
Speaking about the first two bidding processes, he said, “BEL did not compete in Call 1 as a bidder. Three bidders that came forward did not qualify beyond the prequalification process and were not considered for the technical qualification process. It is not a question of bias. Then, in Call 2, three companies qualified in June: Larsen & Tourbo, Matrix and BEL. BEL’s offer was accepted, “he said.
“After this, the tender committee decided that products made in China should not be considered and decided to cancel the second tender,” he said.
“I am not prepared to speak about personal statements or statements made on social media while the matter is in court,” he added.
In response, Roopa D said that Hemant Nimbalkar’s press conference did not answer questions about irregularities in the bidding process. You have called for bids with many irregularities. He has been misleading and misinforming top government officials to the highest level. Today (12-27-2020) he held a press conference but did not answer questions about irregularities and complaints that led to the cancellation of the tender on two occasions, “said Roopa D.
Roopa had previously mentioned that the tender (request for proposal) was finally withdrawn following a complaint made to the Prime Minister’s office by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a Ministry of Defense company, which had also submitted a tender for the project. but he lost a private company.
Roopa shared an official memo dated June 30, 2020 from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries stating that the bidding process will not be finalized before complaints raised by a company are not resolved. He shared another letter from the Karnataka government watchdog wing requesting a report from the Tender Committee on the irregularities.
He also said that there were irregularities even in the last tender (call 3). According to her, a violation is related to the finance department. “The minimum annual turnover of a bidder must be 2 times the bid value. Here the bid value is Rs 620 million, but the fixed minimum turnover is Rs 250 million. Even with the latest amendment, the The minimum requirement is 100% of the value of the offer or the amount payable in the first year. Even that is around 500 crore, “said Roopa.
Furthermore, it alleged that BEL had pointed out that the company allegedly favored by the tender provided Chinese cameras. He added that the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement regulations were not followed in the bidding process.
The Bengaluru Safe City Project, also known as the Nirbhaya Project, involves the installation of 7,500 cameras and other surveillance measures as a means of preventing crime against women and children in the city.
On Friday, the Times of India published a report saying that an anonymous IPS official had posed as the Home Secretary to obtain confidential information about the project from a private auditor tasked with drafting the bidding documents for the project. While the complaint does not explicitly mention Roopa, it does refer to the calls made by her.
It is not clear where the identity theft charge comes from, as Roopa is the interior minister.
Roopa responded with a complaint against Nimbalkar stating that he was trying to avoid scrutiny of the tender, as he was allegedly favoring a private company for the project. He said he was reviewing the bidding process under the instructions of the Assistant Chief Home Secretary Rajneesh Goel, IAS. He said he spoke with auditor EY in his official capacity to gather details on the tender. She alleged that Nimbalkar filed a false and motivated complaint against her.
Hemant Nimbalkar has been indicted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the IMA Ponzi scheme case from several countries.
Read: Roopa IPS accuses Nimbalkar IPS of making a ‘false and motivated’ complaint against her
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