A decision of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s Standing Committee to hand over an economically weaker section (EWS) housing project to a single builder at a price that stretches up to Rs 180 crore has run into controversy with the opposition Congress party smelling a rat in the entire deal.
The AMC is learnt to have awarded the originally Rs 130 crore project to a single company though there is a transparent online bidding process in place. A private firm, Yogi Constructions, has been entrusted the entire project to construct 2,140 dwellings under the EWS housing scheme in Makarba area at a price of Rs 130.11 crore.
After the work was handed over to him, the contractor requested a price hike of 25% and this was also approved by the AMC. The Congress has alleged that this is a clear case of a single builder influencing AMC’s decisions on major projects.
According to the tender, an amount of Rs 130 crore the contract amount at the rate of Rs 21,500 per square meter for a total of 60,520 square meters of carpet area-based work for the construction of 2140 houses under the EWS. The company is also supposed to create an international-level infrastructure.
On this,Oopposition leader Shahzad Khan Pathan stated that despite the entire tendering being online, it is surprising that one single builder has been handed over such a huge project. Yogi Construction, the single bidder, also sought an increase in the tender amount by 25.12 per cent and this too was approved, Pathan wondered.
Currently, due to the price increase demanded by the bidder, this project will be priced at Rs 26,842 per square meter instead of Rs 21,500 per square meter. As the corporation is financially in a dire straits, the Congress has called for a new tender to be issued.
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