- साहसी नागरिक
- 14 years ago
- 1470 दर्शनों की संख्या
World bank tsunami relief housing tenders
Most departments in India awards contracts based on web-based bidding.
But not for World Bank Tsunami relief houses in Tamil Nadu.
It is a great sadness that even world bank officials donot own any responsibility where they are giving loans to the local governments at very attractive terms.
The sham goes like this.
Where a simple 34 square meter house can be constructed by the most uneducated Mason in no time, the world bank specifications of eligibility on previous experience and and the financial capability is seen to be believed.
There is a sham of pre-bid meetings fully videographed ( even the extortionists and touts attend this meeting).
A discussion takes place on the sidelines of this meeting with the extortionits and touts and a cartel is formed.
Does world bank know, that all the bidders ( even a hundred bidders) bid with the same rates ( only the difference in the decimals) that a cartel is formed. No, they rely on the government machinery. The tout's fees is fixed at a minimum of 10% on the bid amount, and then the profit of the cartel is fixed at another 20%. So the total cost just shoots up.
Submitting the bid is a herculean task, if you have not made a deal with the tout. Unfortunately, I took the risk, and went at very early hours and dropped the tender papers. While walking out the tout and his hench man attacked me. I tried to give them a piece of my advise that they should not stand in the way of poor people getting houses so that they do not suffer the Tsunami problems. They did not care, he told either I have to give 10% or I will not be allowed to go. They held my driver hostage. After much pleading, and touching the tout's feet, he took a signature on a paper that i have withdrawn the tender bid. The collector's office never investigated nor the world bank never investigated.
These bids come for rebid of tenders more that four or five times also due to this headache. Why cannot the world bank insist on web based bidding? Why cannot the government ask for web based bidding? No. After all we look for corruption.
To get the refund of my emd cheques was a herculean task. The lesser said the better.
My friend also had the same problem in other tsunami relief districts. You have to see the drama of farce of complying with the rules of world bank, and spirit having been left out.