HC strikes down Nashik civic body’s tender conditions | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday struck down some conditions laid down by the Nashik Municipal Corporation for getting the contract of sweeping and cleaning of roads and allowed the civic body to reframe the ones related to the financial net worth and work experience of bidders interested in the work.

A division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Bharati Dangre was hearing a plea by M/s. Watergrace Products, that challenged the tender conditions on the grounds that a condition stipulating a ₹100 crore net worth was discriminatory and designed to benefit the large operators/solid waste transporters who might have a net worth but do not have the requisite previous experience.

Senior counsel Aspi Chinoy, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the tender only involved supply of manpower/sweepers with basic cleaning material and does not involve any substantial operational expenditure or capital expenditure and, hence the impugned tender conditions were ex facie arbitrary and discriminatory.

Senior advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, appearing on behalf of the local body, however, submitted that the tender related to maintenance of public hygiene and overall cleanliness and the corporation cannot afford to adopt any ‘trial-and-error method’, since during the tender period – 2027 Nashik Kumbh Mela, the city will have floating population of 15 lakh per day. The impugned tender conditions prescribed an experience of two solid waste collection and transportation projects in any one year within the last three years and a net worth of ₹100 crore.

Kumbhakoni further stated that although the local body intends to float a separate tender for the Mela, the possibility that the proposed contractor itself will have to undertake the work of maintenance of public hygiene even during the Kumbha Mela cannot be ruled out and, therefore, the condition about net worth of ₹100 crore had been introduced.

The court said that the estimated cost of tender work was ₹176 crore for a period of five years i.e. approximately ₹35 crore annually and, therefore, the prescription of minimum net worth of ₹100 crore as of March 31, 2024, was arbitrary.

As for reduction of required experience, the court said an experienced contractor is likely to execute the work successfully and, therefore, reducing the requirement from three years to one year would be arbitrary and violative of mandate contained in Article 14 of the Constitution.

“The apprehension of the corporation that the proposed contractor may have to execute the contract work during (2027) ‘Kumbh-Mela’ has no factual foundation and same cannot furnish justification for prescribing the impugned conditions,” the court said.