GUWAHATI, April 30 - The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which is in force due to the Lok Sabha elections, has delayed the procurement of the dredger by the Water Resources Department (WRD) of the State. The dredger was proposed to be procured, at a cost of Rs 18 crore, for carrying out corrective dredging activities in the erosion-prone reaches of the tributaries of the Brahmaputra and the Barak on an experimental basis.
It is learnt that the WRD request placed before the Election Commission for exemption of the procurement of this dredger from the MCC jurisdiction has so far remained unanswered. It has hence been decided by the WRD to wait until the process of the Lok Sabha elections is over to issue the final order in this connection.
The WRD had floated a global tender on November 2, 2018 (NIT No CE/CC/WR/e-tendering/2016-17/640/pt-IV/10), inviting interested parties across the globe to make their bids for supply of the dredger.
It needs mention here that about two years back, the State Government had announced procurement of several dredgers to dig the bed of the Brahmaputra for keeping its bed deep for maintaining a round-the-year navigational channel. At the same time, the State Government also announced that it would procure one dredger for corrective dredging in the erosion-prone reaches of the Brahmaputra and Barak tributaries and allocated a sum of Rs 18 crore for the purpose.
According to information available with this newspaper, three parties --- M/s Cleantec Infra Private Limited, New Delhi, M/s Laxyo Energy Limited, and M/s Mari Teck International, Kerala submitted their bids. Cleantec Infra Private Limited and Laxyo Energy Limited submitted document fee in the form of Demand Draft and EMD (earnest money deposit) in the form of Bank Guarantee in Indian Rupees. Therefore, both the parties were considered for evaluation of their technical bids by the advisory committee formed for the purpose of evaluation of the bids.
Mari Teck International had not submitted hard copy of the bids and submitted its bid without the cost of the bid document fee and EMD and hence it was considered non-responsive for evaluation of its technical bid.
It needs mention here that Laxyo Energy Limited submitted the bid on behalf of Qingzhou JuLong Environment Technology Co Ltd, China, while Cleantec Infra Private Limited submitted the bid on behalf of the Ellicott Dredges, USA. Laxyo Energy Ltd did not mention the model of the dredger it would have supplied.
Later on, in reply to the queries made by the evaluation committee, it stated that it would construct and supply newly built dredger of CSD 400 model. However, in the technical bid and the subsequent replies, the firm did not furnish any evidence of such a proven model of similar capacity dredger of the company, which the firm had supplied to any of their customers.
Cleantec Infra Private Ltd communicated that it would supply the tugging vessel as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and its design criteria is compatible with the Dredger Ellicott 670 it had offered. Further, it also offered a warranty of three years for the hull of the tugging vessel.
The specifications stated by the Cleantec Infra Private Ltd were found compatible with the WRD requirements. The evaluation committee hence considered the Cleantec Infra Private Limited's bid as technically responsive and the bid of the Laxyo Energy Ltd as technically non-responsive.
