REVISED GOVERNMENT POLICY ON SELECTION OF BIDDERS FOR VARIOUS AWARD OF GOVERNMENT WORKS ONCE IMPLEMENTED TO HELP INFRASTRCUTURE SECTOR IN A BIG WAY IN COMING DAYS -INDIAN BUILDING CONGRESS (IBC)
THE REVISED POLICY HAS EXPANDED THE AMBIT OF SELECTING BIDDERS FOR EXECUTING GOVERNMENT PROJECTS, AND PROCURING GOODS AND SERVICES IN MINISTRIES AND GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
INVC NEWS
New Delhi ,
The much needed amended policy of the Union government doing away with age old system of procurement and awarding works on basis of at Least cost of L1 will help the infrastructure industry in a big way once fully implemented by various concerned ministries ..
“ The government amended the General Financial Rules (GFR) vide it’s order No. 1/1/2021-PPD dated 29th October, 2021 bringing in requisite change that it is no longer necessary to award work at least cost nor it is necessary to have the minimum of two quotes to compare rates. Works can now be awarded at lowest workable rates and not at the Least cost. It can be awarded on a single quotation also. This applies to all the three procurements i.e. procurement of Consultants, Contractors and Goods.” Said Mr K K Kapila, former president Indian Buildings Congress (IBC) and president emeritus International Road Federation (IRF) while speaking at the recently concluded the Two day National seminar on ‘sustainable built environment for future’ organised by the Indian Buildings Congress (IBC) .
“According to the revised guidelines, L1 or Least Cost Selection Method, will no longer be the only tendering format for selecting bidders for executing projects. L1 was so far the preferred method used by ministries, public agencies and public sector undertakings (PSUs) for selecting lowest bidders to carry out standard or routine works. The guidelines issued by the Department of Expenditure’s Public Procurement division have now allowed the selection of bidders for works and non-consultancy services through alternative procurement methods like the Quality-cum-Cost Based Selection (QCBS).”Mr Kapila said .
“In the L1 system, a bidder is selected only on the basis of the lowest cost committed to complete the work. There is no weightage for technical score in the final evaluation and the responsive technically qualified proposal with the lowest evaluated cost is selected. Unlike L1, new policy evaluates a bidder based on a combination of technical and quality scores. However, the maximum weightage for non-financial parameters should not exceed 30 per cent.” He added .
“We hope various ministries including Ministry of Urban and housing development, Ministry of Road transport and Highways and other ministries will soon be drafting new rules and adopting the amended tendering policy soon for the benefit of the infrastructure industry “ Mr Kapila said.
“The infra and construction industry which had just risen from the pandemic lockdown is suffering due to steep rise in prices of basic raw materials steel and cement .The increased prices coupled with supply constraints, are impacting construction timelines. Prices of key raw materials like steel, cement and bitumen have risen significantly in the last one year, which poses challenges for several sectors, especially infrastructure and real estate. These two are still reeling from the impact of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns. Industry looks forward to appropriate steps by concerned government authorities against what seems to be mainly due to cartelisation.” He added
