HPC of Meghalaya Assembly scraps tender for new building

Shillong, Nov. 16 (PTI): The High Powered Committee (HPC) of the Meghalaya Assembly has today scrapped the tender for construction of the new Assembly building.

The HPC has asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to go for fresh tenders at the earliest after scrapping the tender.

“The HPC had decided to scrap the tender as one of the bidders quoted a rate too low and over 15 per cent lower than the bid value. After analysing we felt it would not be possible for the firm to do justice with the project keeping in view quality control and other related issues,” Assembly Speaker A T Mondal told PTI.

He said the PWD recently opened the price bid after three firms – Simplex Infrastructure Pvt ltd, Gautam construction Pvt ltd and Shapoorji Pallonji Co & Ltd – qualified in the technical bidding.

Mondal who chaired the HPC said that the bid value was Rs 105 crore and Gautam Constructions quoted 15.01 per cent less than the bid value whereas Shapoorji Pallonji Co & Ltd quoted 29.92 per cent more than bid value and even Simplex Infrastructure quoted 21.90 per cent more of the bid value.

The PWD department asked the lowest bidding firm to justify its quoted price and after analysing the PWD suggested that the bid value was too low to complete the building considering the cost escalation in the present market and the impact of new taxes.

The HPC has now asked PWD to go for fresh tenders at the earliest.

The HPC has already approved the building design and an 80 acre plot was allocated at the New Shillong Township in Mawdiangdiang, about 12 km from here.

The new assembly building was necessitated after the heritage Assembly building at Khyndailad area was gutted in an inferno in 2001.