Daijiworld Media Network – Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar, Sep 20: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has directed government departments to complete the tender approval process within a maximum of 51 to 66 days to speed up development and construction projects and prevent administrative delays.

Under the revised timelines, tenders without pre-qualification of contractors and involving only financial bids must be processed from the field or regional office level through the Secretariat and Finance Department within 51 days.

For tenders requiring contractor pre-qualification and involving both technical and financial bids, the entire approval process, including scrutiny at different levels, must be completed within 66 days.

The decision revises the earlier system under which around 120 days was generally allowed for completing the tender approval process. The government has also reduced the tender validity period from 120 days to 90 days.

The revised guidelines state that negotiations should be avoided when more than one tender has been received after adequate publicity as prescribed under the rules, except in unavoidable circumstances. Where negotiations are necessary, they will be conducted only at the level of the competent authority, with negotiations at multiple levels prohibited.

The Chief Minister has further directed that if a proposal is not disposed of within the prescribed timeframe, the reasons for the delay must be recorded and responsibility fixed on the concerned officer.

Where a delay occurs because a proposal is incomplete, responsibility will rest with the level from which the proposal was submitted.

The government said the streamlined process is aimed at ensuring faster and more transparent tender approvals and enabling infrastructure and construction projects, including roads, bridges and government buildings, to commence within stipulated timelines.