Five years ago, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) awarded a significant drainage project valued at Rs 5.59 crore to NP Patel & Co. However, recent investigations by the AMC vigilance department have brought to light severe compromises in the project’s quality. According to the vigilance report, the contractor will have to refund Rs 1.76 crore, along with interest, owing to irregularities. Furthermore, the contractor has been barred by the department for three years. Ironically, the errant contractor, despite his record, has managed to secure deals elsewhere.
The AMC’s Voter and Sewerage Committee has an upcoming meeting on July 31, 2023, during which it will deliberate on a request to deny any work to NP Patel & Company for three years. While the application does not explicitly use the term ‘blacklist’, it implies the contractor’s exclusion from future projects based on the request initiated by AMC officials. This decision aims to ensure that the contractor faces difficulties in obtaining work in other districts or cities as well.
The entire controversy revolves around the systematic drainage network project undertaken by the AMC to address water logging issues on the outskirts of the city, specifically in areas surrounding Indira Nagar and Lakshminagar. The project’s goal aimed at establishing an efficient network of drainage lines and a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 5 MLD was planned near Lambha Lake to integrate with the new drainage system.
The tender for the project in the Lambha ward was awarded to NP Patel & Company. It was initially scheduled for completion in April 2019, but various delays pushed it to January 2021. Throughout the project’s course, several complaints regarding the quality of work surfaced, prompting an investigation by the AMC vigilance department.
Investigation revealed subpar work quality throughout the project. The contractor received Rs 5.44 crore out of the total project value, but a discrepancy of Rs 30.39 lakh was identified and subsequently recovered from the contractor by the Municipal Commissioner during the primary investigation. Following further scrutiny, an additional recovery of Rs 1.76 crore was imposed, including interest on the total recovery amount.
The vigilance department initially recommended blacklisting the contractor for three years, but both the standing committee and the Voter and Sewerage Committee did not approve the request. However, six months later, the standing committee tasked the Project Management Consultant (PMC) to withhold work for three years. The request was partially approved by the Voter and Sewerage Committee in a subsequent meeting, leading to the contractor’s one-year blacklisting by the standing committee. This decision was subsequently revised, resulting in the contractor’s final blacklisting for three years during another standing committee meeting.
The officials of the Voter Project Department had previously attempted to save the contractor. The upcoming meeting of the Voter and Sewerage Committee will also consider reducing the exclusion period if the Voter Committee approves the request. After obtaining approval from the Voter Committee, the request will be presented to the standing committee for further deliberation.
The irregularities
During the sewerage network work, contractor NP Patel & Company demonstrated severe negligence and irregularities. This raised concerns about the improper digging of gutters in certain areas despite the supposed desilting of gutters near Lakhba talav (pond). Allegations of improper drainage of dirty water into Lakhba Talav have also been made. The vigilance department noted the following issues during their investigation:
- 1. Replaced 900 sq. metres and 600 sq. metres of Class 4 pipes with Class 3 pipes while receiving payment for Class 4 pipes.
- 2. The registration of six vehicles mentioned in the Measurement Book was not found on the RTO website.
- 3. Proper maintenance of all types of registers was neglected.
- 4. Out of 15 items specified in the tender, 12 showed irregularities.
- 5. Removed 300 metres of the drainage pipeline with the flow, instead of removing it in the opposite direction as per tender specification.
- 6. Failed to maintain suitable records, including registrar, monthly progress report, and all related documents, as per the tender specification.
- 7. The approval for the entire project’s design drawing is still pending.
- 8. Significant delays occurred during the project’s execution.
- 9. The PMC agency did not fulfil its duties adequately.
- 10. Insufficient supervision of the work by officials.
Additionally, over 25 specific notes of discrepancies have been documented in the report, detailing the damages incurred to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
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