Tenders: Government Contractors plea

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Government Contractors Association has called on the government not to accept tenders quoted below the market rates.Association president Varghese Kannampally told a news conference here on  Tuesday said that though the PWD rates were lesser than the market rates, even tenders quoting 50 per cent below the PWD rates are  being accepted. This was  major reason for the poor quality of work, he said.He said the association would launch an awareness campaign against such practices. The PWD and Water Resources Department are being sidelined and works are being handed over to other agencies in the process, he said.In this context, it was essential for the government to end the unwanted formalities being followed in the PWD and Water Resources Department.The government should convince the contractors about the authenticity of the e-tenders. By conducting mock e-tenders, the contractors should be familiarised with e-tenders. It was important to implement e-payment facility to avoid corruption, he said.Association treasurer K Anilkumar, secretary Ashraf Kadavilakam, district president R Viswanathan and others attended the meeting.