MC stuck in tender process, could’ve earned Rs 5 cr in year

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 13

The cash-starved MC could have earned a revenue of about Rs5 crore in the year gone by had it not been still stuck in the tendering process of advertisements on 55 public toilets.

The tender was floated in last January for the first time after a gap of about five years.

Shockingly, it has failed to allot the work till now. The civic body can earn around Rs28 crore through this in five years.

It did not get a response from any agency during the tendering process initially. However, even after the tendering process was completed and a company was selected, the work could not be allotted on account of various approvals and formalities.

Interestingly, the issue that has cropped up now is that of the 55 toilet blocks for which the tender was floated, 18 have been demolished for renovation.

The company selected for the work had to write to the MC to recalculate the area and work out related issues. As a result, the process got delayed further.

A senior official said, “All formalities have been completed now and the work will be allotted soon.”

Leader of the Opposition Devinder Singh Babla said, “The MC keeps taxing people, but on its part, it has failed to earn revenue from the venture. It should explain why even after one year, the work has still not been allotted.”

The MC has often claimed it does not have sufficient funds even to pay salaries to its employees. Work on the renovation of several toilets is also stuck due to shortage of funds.

The corporation had 191 public conveniences where advertisements were allowed in the city. However, 55 toilets had a bigger area and had a potential for advertisements, thus only these were being considered. Only a few toilets under the CHB in Sector 34 have advertisements in the city at present.