GCC to Scrutinise Over 1,000 Tender Files After Floating Record 14,543 Tenders

Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner G.S. Sameeran informed the Corporation Council on Friday that the civic body floated 14,543 tenders during the last financial year, and announced that more than 1,000 files involving procedural issues would be scrutinised.

Responding to queries raised by members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi regarding tenders floated without following standard processes, Mr. Sameeran noted that the volume of tenders in the last financial year far exceeded the usual annual range of 4,000 to 4,500 tenders.

Mr. Sameeran outlined the required procedure for development projects, explaining that works must first be checked for financial provision and administrative sanction before being registered in the Corporation's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Following registration, tenders must be called, placed before the tender committee, and awarded to eligible bidders, followed by the issuance of a Letter of Award and a work order.

He stated that bills would reach all projects that followed this procedure, while works undertaken without required approvals or beyond budgetary allocations could face payment difficulties. A separate audit committee constituted by the Finance Department is examining the works.

During the council meeting, DMK Standing Committee chairperson C. Velu suggested that the civic body could have collected pending road cut charges from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) instead of carrying out property tax reassessments.

Addressing the matter, Mr. Sameeran stated that CMWSSB had been permitted to carry out road cuts in anticipation of approval to ensure that works under the Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam proceeded without delays. He noted that over ₹3,500 crore in road cut charges was due to the GCC from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), but the CMDA lacked funds. He added that he had insisted Metrowater obtain the funds from the CMDA and hand them over to the Corporation.

Additionally, the Commissioner stated that the GCC has allocated ₹100 crore for monsoon-related preparatory work. The package includes ₹22.45 crore for desilting, ₹15 crore for immediate road repairs, ₹4 crore for high-capacity desilting machines, ₹10 crore for emergency and essential works, ₹26 crore for hiring high-capacity pump motors, and ₹15 crore for other works. Administrative sanction has been granted, and the projects are at various stages of tendering and execution.