NDMC favoured NGO
12 July 2012 1:02 AM GMT
In a clear case of connivance of officers to benefit concessionaire of mid-day meal in north Delhi, it was found that North Delhi Municipal Corporation [NDMC] violated norms to provide undue benefit to an NGO, Stri Shakti.
As per the provision submitted to the meeting of standing committee for engaging contractors for providing mid-day meal in 778 schools of NDMC, the officers picked up the Stri Shakti canteen, located in Ranhola, which is beyond the jurisdiction of NDMC.
Further, the canteen has been allotted the second highest number of students in NDMC area. Interestingly, in the same document, it has been mentioned, ‘In view of trifurcation, it is recommended that kitchens that have been selected to provide cooked food should be confined to serve cooked food in the schools of respective zones under the jurisdiction of a particular corporation only and there should not be any overlapping.’
The ‘rule of jurisdiction’ is not the only rule broken by officers to benefit Stri Shakti. The officers also violated the rule of number of students to benefit the contractor. Of the three canteens in NDMC area selected for mid-day meal scheme, one belongs to Stri Shakti in Ali Pur village. This canteen has been ranked ‘fair’ by the kitchen inspection committee, but strength was increased from 75,000 to 77,000 students, the only canteen, which got this benefit.
However, Surya Charitable and Welfare Society in Budhpur village was ranked ‘good’, but saw a fall in the student strength. It was allotted 1,53,000 students in 2011-12, but was recommended only for 1,40,000 students in the current session. Similarly, another contractor Maitree Research and Development Foundation in Budh Vihar was proposed 33,000 less students in the current session, despite being ranked fair.
According to the kitchen inspection committee, a kitchen graded ‘good’ shall be allotted one lakh or above children while ‘fair’ grade kitchen would be allotted 65,000 to one lakh children. The ‘poor’ grade kitchens are not considered for mid-day meal.
The standing committee of NDMC has ordered an enquiry into the matter and directed the officials to eliminate Stri Shakti from the list and redistribute the students allotted to it among three eligible canteens. Further, the committee also directed to finalise one more contractor if necessary within three days.
DANGEROUS NEXUS BETWEEN PARKING MAFIA, NDMC OFFICIALS
The city corporations are struggling to find ways to increase their revenue but officials, in connivance with parking mafias, are hell bent to make holes in their move. Millennium Post, in its investigation, found that the parking mafias in North Delhi Municipal Corporation [NDMC] area have learnt to ‘abort’ the efforts of corporation to auction its parking sites on higher cost.
Their working could be well understood by an example in one of the prominent parking sites in the city - Ram Lila Ground. The contract of this site was allotted to a contractor at Rs 2.20 lakh per month, which expired on 7 July 2012. Accordingly, fresh tender was called for and nine contractors applied. The highest bidder, R K Jha, quoted a bid amount of Rs 6.66 lakh per month and the second highest bidder, Gumukh Singh, quoted Rs 4.67 lakh. On finalisation of the contract, the highest bidder was issued an offer letter, but he did not appear to take charge of the parking. The officers then allowed the old contractor to continue on the parking site.
In the ‘expression of interest’ of this tender, the officers had not given the option to call the second highest bidder to run the parking. In a earlier parking tender, issue on 10 October 2011, it was mentioned in clause 31 [c], copy of the report is with Millennium Post, which empowered the department to call the next highest bidder in case the highest bidder does not appear. In this case, the highest bidder was actually a ‘mole’ of the parking mafia and was ceremoniously ‘debarred’ from taking part in any future bidding.
According to sources some officers who had objected to this malpractice were also transferred from the department to benefit the parking mafia.
As a result, the corporation is getting Rs 2.22 lakh per month for Ram Lila Ground parking instead of Rs 6.66 lakh offered by the highest bidder or Rs 4.67 lakh offered by the second highest bidder.
Millennium Post also has documents of a similar case in Dangal Maidan parking site where Rs 6,66,666 was the highest bid by K L Duggal against the present amount of Rs 1.8 lakh. In this case also, the highest bidder did not appear and parking was continued with earlier contractor. The second highest bidder, L Singh, in this case had offered Rs 4,96,988 but he was never called. Here also the NDMC is losing a minimum of Rs 37.92 lakh per annum.
‘There are around 15 parking in NDMC area where parking mafias have aborted the effort of corporation to allot their parking sites on higher cost in the same fashion,’ said an official. The corporation has 119 parking sites in its area. There is also an outstanding of Rs 5.67 crore on parking contractors.
As per the provision submitted to the meeting of standing committee for engaging contractors for providing mid-day meal in 778 schools of NDMC, the officers picked up the Stri Shakti canteen, located in Ranhola, which is beyond the jurisdiction of NDMC.
Further, the canteen has been allotted the second highest number of students in NDMC area. Interestingly, in the same document, it has been mentioned, ‘In view of trifurcation, it is recommended that kitchens that have been selected to provide cooked food should be confined to serve cooked food in the schools of respective zones under the jurisdiction of a particular corporation only and there should not be any overlapping.’
The ‘rule of jurisdiction’ is not the only rule broken by officers to benefit Stri Shakti. The officers also violated the rule of number of students to benefit the contractor. Of the three canteens in NDMC area selected for mid-day meal scheme, one belongs to Stri Shakti in Ali Pur village. This canteen has been ranked ‘fair’ by the kitchen inspection committee, but strength was increased from 75,000 to 77,000 students, the only canteen, which got this benefit.
However, Surya Charitable and Welfare Society in Budhpur village was ranked ‘good’, but saw a fall in the student strength. It was allotted 1,53,000 students in 2011-12, but was recommended only for 1,40,000 students in the current session. Similarly, another contractor Maitree Research and Development Foundation in Budh Vihar was proposed 33,000 less students in the current session, despite being ranked fair.
According to the kitchen inspection committee, a kitchen graded ‘good’ shall be allotted one lakh or above children while ‘fair’ grade kitchen would be allotted 65,000 to one lakh children. The ‘poor’ grade kitchens are not considered for mid-day meal.
The standing committee of NDMC has ordered an enquiry into the matter and directed the officials to eliminate Stri Shakti from the list and redistribute the students allotted to it among three eligible canteens. Further, the committee also directed to finalise one more contractor if necessary within three days.
DANGEROUS NEXUS BETWEEN PARKING MAFIA, NDMC OFFICIALS
The city corporations are struggling to find ways to increase their revenue but officials, in connivance with parking mafias, are hell bent to make holes in their move. Millennium Post, in its investigation, found that the parking mafias in North Delhi Municipal Corporation [NDMC] area have learnt to ‘abort’ the efforts of corporation to auction its parking sites on higher cost.
Their working could be well understood by an example in one of the prominent parking sites in the city - Ram Lila Ground. The contract of this site was allotted to a contractor at Rs 2.20 lakh per month, which expired on 7 July 2012. Accordingly, fresh tender was called for and nine contractors applied. The highest bidder, R K Jha, quoted a bid amount of Rs 6.66 lakh per month and the second highest bidder, Gumukh Singh, quoted Rs 4.67 lakh. On finalisation of the contract, the highest bidder was issued an offer letter, but he did not appear to take charge of the parking. The officers then allowed the old contractor to continue on the parking site.
In the ‘expression of interest’ of this tender, the officers had not given the option to call the second highest bidder to run the parking. In a earlier parking tender, issue on 10 October 2011, it was mentioned in clause 31 [c], copy of the report is with Millennium Post, which empowered the department to call the next highest bidder in case the highest bidder does not appear. In this case, the highest bidder was actually a ‘mole’ of the parking mafia and was ceremoniously ‘debarred’ from taking part in any future bidding.
According to sources some officers who had objected to this malpractice were also transferred from the department to benefit the parking mafia.
As a result, the corporation is getting Rs 2.22 lakh per month for Ram Lila Ground parking instead of Rs 6.66 lakh offered by the highest bidder or Rs 4.67 lakh offered by the second highest bidder.
Millennium Post also has documents of a similar case in Dangal Maidan parking site where Rs 6,66,666 was the highest bid by K L Duggal against the present amount of Rs 1.8 lakh. In this case also, the highest bidder did not appear and parking was continued with earlier contractor. The second highest bidder, L Singh, in this case had offered Rs 4,96,988 but he was never called. Here also the NDMC is losing a minimum of Rs 37.92 lakh per annum.
‘There are around 15 parking in NDMC area where parking mafias have aborted the effort of corporation to allot their parking sites on higher cost in the same fashion,’ said an official. The corporation has 119 parking sites in its area. There is also an outstanding of Rs 5.67 crore on parking contractors.
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