Home » Telangana » Tgsrtc Dismisses Brs Claims Of Corruption In Tender Process Says High Level Committee Examined It

TGSRTC dismisses BRS claims of corruption in tender process, says high-level committee examined it

BRS, currently in the opposition, levelled the corruption allegations against Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and the TGSRTC.

ByDeepika Pasham

Published Jun 18, 2024 | 11:54 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 19, 2024 | 1:33 AM

(Representational image/Creative Commons)

The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) has denied the allegations that the tender of its Automatic Fare Collection System was given to a company without guidelines being followed.

BRS, which is currently in the opposition in Telangana, levelled the allegations against Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and the RTC.

For the past two days, BRS in general and its social media convenor Manne Krishank, in particular, have been asking questions on the transparency of the tender process as the letter of intent for supplying 13,200 Intelligent Ticket Issue Machines (iTIMS) by the company named Chalo Mobility has been accepted.

The Opposition has alleged in giving the offer to this particular company, the Congress dispensation in the state committed corruption to the tune of crores of rupees.

The corruption allegations

Krishank told reporters, “As we exposed the tenders of the TGSRTC ticketing corruption, the corporation has issued a long explanation on the issue, but our questions remain.”

He asked: “If the government cancelled a tender on 29 February, how come a company got the tender within three days?”

The BRS leader added: “We wish to know who were on the committee and who they met in other states to learn their practices. Did other companies participate in the tender process?”

1. When questioned about RTC Ticketing Contract, Government mentioned about Free Bus Scheme,
is it a license for Corruption ❓️
2. As per Government’s reply tender was cancelled on 29th Feb,
According to Letter of Intent, Govt started negotiations from 4th March,
Is it possible… pic.twitter.com/a2egV9RyYG

— Krishank (@Krishank_BRS) June 18, 2024

BRS also compared the situation with neighbouring state Karnataka, pointing out that it conducted the tender process through e-governance portals.

It then went on to ask: How could this not be taken as an example to study?

Also read: Revanth-KCR tussle escalates with barbs, small room in Assembly

TGSRTC responds

TGSRTC officials have elaborated in a statement that an internal high-level committee decided to award the tender to the company.

The organisation issued a tender notice on 1 January, and examined the documents and presentations on technical management capability, it said.

The panel then decided that none of the companies could satisfactorily provide all the services mentioned in the tender, added the statement.

The tender was thus cancelled on 29 February without the opening of the commercial bid, it noted.

The TGSRTC management then appointed a high-level committee, which examined the tenders of the companies that applied earlier.

The committee then decided to select a company that could provide all the services required, and chose Chalo Mobility, according to the statement.

The company was apparently selected because it had completed many deliveries in Bihar.

South First has approached TGSRTC to know if such a process of the tender being awarded ever happened at any other time. This article will be updated once a response is received.

(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)

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