Chennai: Tamil Nadu govt has floated a tender to procure 5.32 lakh bicycles, along with helmets and water bottles, for Class XI students of govt, aided and partly-aided schools across the state for this academic year.The e-tender, which also calls for supply, assembly, delivery and warranty support by the bidder, comes nearly four weeks after finance minister Marie Wilson announced during the state budget that govt would supply modern bicycles to Class XI govt school students, and allocated ₹277 crore.According to the tender documents, boys will receive 2.37 lakh cycles, and girls will get 2.95 lakh. Every cycle must be ISO-certified, and will come with a Tamil Nadu govt logo engraved on the front tube, besides water bottle holders and locks. The cycles to be given to girls will come with a basket in the front. Every beneficiary-school will get two maintenance/tool kits each, free of cost, by the firm that bags the contract.The contractor is also mandated to deploy service personnel. “Any defect noticed in the functioning of the bicycle within 30 days from the date of distribution to the students shall be attended to by the service personnel. The successful bidder shall organize service camps free of cost for three days, six months after the cycles are distributed,” the tender documents said, adding that the camps must be scheduled in consultation with the respective chief educational officers.The tender is open till 3pm on Sept 28. Bidders should quote the price separately for each unit of cycle and accessories. Every bidder must have an annual turnover of at least ₹300 crore in the bicycles sector during the past three financial years. The firm should have also sold in retail a minimum of 6 lakh cycles over the past three years.
