Tamil Nadu government denies tender irregularities in proposed CM’s new office

CHENNAI: The administration on Wednesday denied reports of irregularities in the tender process for works to set up CM's new office at Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai.

What happened

It remarked the office-related works would commence only after the tenders were scrutinised on September 1, the last date for submission, and a work order was issued to the lowest bidder. It remarked the tender notification was published in newspapers and the State Tender Bulletin on August 13, uploaded on the tender website on August 15, and the tender documents were produced available online on August 17.

For context, the tender process provides 18 days between publication of the notification and the final date for submission. There are 15 days between the online publication of the tender documents and the deadline.

Notably, the department remarked August 15 and 16 were administration holidays and the tender details were created available on the Tamil Nadu Tenders portal from August 17. It additionally stated the estimated value of the works was clearly mentioned in the online tender notification. The works covering Blocks 1, 2 and 3 will be taken up only after the L1 tenderer is finalised, it remarked, adding that there was no rule violation.

The bottom line

For now, tamil Nadu government denies tender irregularities in proposed CM's new office remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.