Reports of irregularities in the tendering process involving government contracts valued at over Rs 1,000 crore have emerged in Goa, with one particular contractor being accused of forging documents and gaining eligibility to bid in the high-value projects. According to the report, a private construction firm allegedly obtained the status of Class IAA (Super) Contractor with Goa PWD using fraudulent or manipulated documents.
This allegation, according to complaints filed by civil engineer and PWD contractor Manoj S. Pai Dukle, was made based on the information that the above company had obtained the status of Class IAA (Super) Contractor on the basis of fraudulent completion certificates, the report stated
In his complaint, he said that discrepancies were found in documents pertaining to the completion of the Mudi Tank Filling Scheme, implemented under Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited.
As per complaints, three different versions of Completion Certificate pertaining to the above project were allegedly filed before Goa PWD authorities, bringing into question the verification conducted by the department.
However, later, in documents allegedly submitted to the Goa authorities, the firm was depicted as the lead partner, thus exaggerating its technical competence and rendering it eligible for enlistment as a higher category contractor, the report stated.
The other complaint was in relation to the Rs 51.19-crore Akka Mahadevi Memorial project in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka, in which Dukle alleged that the project had been carried out through tendered phases and could not be considered a single completed project for the purpose of enlistment.
The complaints further referred to Clause 18.1 of the Revised Rules of Enlistment of Contractors in PWD/WRD Goa–2020, wherein it is clearly specified that any experience obtained under a Joint Venture agreement cannot be independently claimed by the partners for their individual enlistment.
According to Dukle, Goa PWD authorities had not verified the Joint Venture agreement appropriately and had neglected the relevant clause while enlisting the firm.
Further, he also stated that the mistakes could well be intentional and that there could be some involvement of vested interest groups in this matter, as per local sources.
According to the complaints, these irregularities had allowed the company to qualify itself for various government projects through which public money had been spent.
