Bhubaneswar, Mar 15: There were irregularities in the tender process for piped water projects in Odisha, the Congress alleged on Thursday and sought a reply from the state government.
The administration had combined piped water supply projects of eight rural blocks in five districts under one package of tender and awarded the work to a non-Odia contractor, claimed Odisha Congress campaign committee chairman Bijay Patnaik.
The state government was preparing the tender document in such a way that Odia contractors become ineligible to get the work, Patnaik said addressing a press conference here.
The drinking water projects of Bhograi block of Balasore district, Bhandaripokhari of Bhadrak, Keonjhar, Champua, Jhumpura of Keonjhar, Satyabadi of Puri and Saintala and Titlagarh of Bolangir had been merged under single tender, he alleged.
“Compared to the estimated cost of Rs 274.81 crore, the project was awarded to the contractor at Rs 327.30 crore,” he claimed.
The Congress leader said the piped water project was initially planned to start in 2014 and to be completed in 2018. Now, the project cost has escalated to Rs 373.28 crore, he said.
