2023-04-28 14:00:00
Thiruvananthapuram – Keltron has been awarded a contract to install 726 road cameras to catch traffic violations once morest the instructions of the Finance Department. The contract was awarded to Keltron once morest an order issued by the Finance Department in August 2018 and they sub-contracted it to SRIT. After the release of the order, it became clear that the argument of the Industries Department that the subcontracting should not be known to the Transport Department is wrong.
In the order issued by the Finance Department in 2018 specifying the criteria for purchasing equipment required by government departments, it was stated that two types of contracts can be awarded to accredited agencies. Can be contracted to act as Project Management Consultancy (PMC) and supply own equipment. The order clarified that only if the accredited agency has sufficient expertise, they should be awarded the contract to supply the equipment on their own. The concerned department will be responsible for awarding the contract. It was the failure of the government to award the contract to Keltron, which had no experience in installing road cameras.
At least 50 percent of the equipment provided as part of the contract should be from an accredited agency. If more than 50 percent of the equipment is procured from a third party, the contract should not be awarded to an accredited agency. Even five percent of the cameras and devices installed as part of the Safe Kerala project are not owned by Keltron. The Transport Department was not aware that Keltron had subcontracted to SRIT.
The directive in the 2018 order was that procurement of goods from third parties should be done through transparent bidding. These bidding procedures should also be made available to the concerned department. If the accredited agency is acting as a PMC, the final decision on the selection of the third party should be taken by the concerned department. Payment to the third party should be made directly by the department. None of these conditions were met in the Keltron – SRIT sub-contract. Industry Minister P. Rajeev replied to the question regarding this that the Transport Department does not need to know regarding this.
English Summary: Finance Department’s Instructions are Violated in Giving Contract of Road Cameras to Keltron
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