Chennai: The GCC officials handling public tenders will henceforth be guided by three principles: do not bypass administrative sanctions; do not disclose bid details before tenders are opened; and do not escalate project costs without written explanation.These were some of the instructions given by experts to GCC officials during the first-of-its-kind tender training session on Friday.The GCC roped in experts from Deloitte, a UK-based audit and finance firm, who briefed officials on the tendering stages from preparing estimates, to get administrative sanctions, technical sanctions, evaluating bids till giving a work order and closure report.A Gnanaselvam, a procurement specialist with Deloitte, told the 400-odd officials that administrative sanction for a project involved preparing an estimate, showing the DPR to govt, execution prospects, and tentative funding. “The govt dept will then verify the scope of the project, finance possibilities, how long it will take to complete it, whether the escalation is required or not, and confirm a specific allotment. You cannot skip this process. Many tenders in GCC seem to have skipped the administrative sanction itself. It is illegal and might invite vigilance agencies,” he said.The Tender Inviting Authority will be held responsible for ensuring compliance with procurement rules. “As per TN Urban Local Body Rules, 2023, even if you escalate ₹1 from the project value, the higher authority of the tender inviting authority must give a written explanation. Price escalation is valid for projects lasting more than 18 months, as raw material costs might escalate. But it shouldn’t be the case for those below 18 months,” he said.Even for negative bidding, bids quoted more than 20% below the estimate must be supported with item-wise justifications, while bids 35% below the estimate should generally be re-tendered. Officials were instructed not to disclose additional security deposit details during technical evaluation. The training also mandated a five-year defect liability period in contracts and reiterated that only GST-registered contractors are eligible to execute government works.
