Mumbai: The BMC’s plan to appoint a sole agency for carrying out various sanitation works in slums has failed to yield a response from bidders. The civic body could not receive a single bid for the Rs. 1,300 crore tender for the fourth time on Wednesday. The substantial Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) requirement of Rs. 13 crores is said to be a hindrance in the way of prospective bidders. The new deadline is now extended to April 23.  

BMC’s Efforts to Improve Slum Sanitation Delayed By Lack Of Bidders

Currently, the waste collection is carried out by volunteers working in the slum areas across the city. As per the civic official, the volunteers’ work has been limited and has failed to keep the slums clean. So, the civic body decided to replace them by appointing a contractor who would be responsible for waste collection and disposal as well as cleaning of public toilets in slum areas.

Accordingly, the BMC issued a tender on February 16, for cleanliness of slums for the next four years. But the deadline was extended four times when it failed to get a response from a bidder. 

BMC Deadline To Find Bidders Extended To April 23

However, the civic official said, “The prospective bidders seem to be reluctant to pay the EMD requirement of Rs.13 crores along with some other technical issues. We will see if we can make any changes to the existing tender conditions if required.

Therefore, the deadline is being extended for the next three weeks.” Ravi Raja, former Opposition leader of the BMC, had already requested the chief minister Eknath Shinde, to scrap the proposal as the new scheme will render 11,000 NGO workers jobless.