A. L. SATISH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These Writ Petitions are filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India praying to quash the Notification dated 13.12.2011 issued by the Executive Engineer, Basavanagudi, Bangalore (Not a Competent Authority) vide Annexure-B etc. , These writ petitions having been heard and reserved, coming on for pronouncement of order this day, the Court made the following. Though number of prayers are sought in these writ petitions, the sum and substance of the prayers is to quash Short Term Tender Notices issued by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike ('BBMP' for short) dated 12.12.2011 and 13.12.2011 in respect of various packages inviting Proposals from the eligible bidders to provide Solid Waste Management Services for a period of three years.

(2.) The petitioners are presently carrying on disposal of solid waste material in BBMP and the contract has been awarded in their favour through tenders. The respondent - BBMP floated tenders on 12/13-12-2011 for providing Solid Waste Management Services for a period of three years in different zones of BBMP. The BBMP had earlier invited tenders by issuing notification on 16.7.2011 for providing similar services in respect of 91 packages. Some of the petitioners approached this Court by filing Writ Petition Nos. 32503-32506/2011 & 32507-32508/2011 (LB-BBMP) questioning the said Tender Notification. A memo came to be filed by the BBMP during the pendency of those writ petitions with a statement that the fresh tender notification will be issued in accordance with law. However, according to the BBMP since there was no adequate response to the notification dated 16.7.2011 inasmuch as the tenders were only in respect of two packages, BBMP floated the present tender in respect of 89 packages.

(3.) According to the petitioners, they have availed huge loans amounting to crores of rupees and some of them are owning vehicles worth about Rs. 2 crores to Rs. 2.5 crores; all of them are depending only on the avocation of disposal of solid waste material and they are having more than 12,000 employees. According to the petitioners, the impugned notifications were issued in violation of various provisions of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act, 1999 ('Transparency Act' in short) and the rules framed thereunder; that the Government Orders dated 6.8.2005 and 14.10.2008 as to the preparation of the standard tender document depending upon the value of the work have not been followed; As the estimated value is more than Rs. 10 crores in respect of each package, the tender document in terms of KW-IV or KW-V ought to have been used for inviting tenders; that the relaxation given to the applicants belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe insofar as Earnest Money Deposit and Solvency Certificate is bad in the eye of law and such concession given to SC/ST Societies, groups or individuals is contrary to the standard tender document inasmuch as such concession is impermissible and without authority of law; Unless and until the Transparency Act and the Standard Tender Document is amended, question of providing reservation does not arise and therefore such concession is ultra vires of the powers conferred under the Act and the Rules. It is further stated by the petitioners that minimum time stipulated for preparation of pre-qualification is 45 days as per the standard tender document, whereas Rule- 17 of the Transparency Rules provides minimum of 60 days and neither of the two is followed; that there is no estimate provided in the impugned notifications unlike in Mangalore, Davangere and Mysore where clear estimated value of the work has been provided in the tender document; that for any reforms in the Solid Waste Material Management, prior approval has to be obtained from the Special Empowered Committee; that the BBMP in the guise of providing concession to SC/ST groups, societies and individuals has provided 100% reservation in their favour. Therefore the notifications are bad in the eye of law.