D ANNADURAI Vs. SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in these Writ Petitions are G. O. (Ms) No. 1 R. D. and P. R. dated 02. 01. 2007 stipulating that Kattida Maiyam should participate as an equal agency in all tender activities.

(2.) FACTUAL background in nutshell are as follows:-District Building Centres in each District in Tamilnadu have been established through the H and U. D. Dept. in G. O. Rt. No. 475 H and U. D. Dept. dated 05. 11. 1990 with the District Collector as its Chairman and the Project Officer, DRDA as its member Secretary. There is a governing body constituted by district level officials, representatives of H and U. D. Dept. , Anna University and Lead Bank etc. , as its members to govern the activities of the Building Centres. Building Centres were established to promote low cost technology and with the usage of having local knowledge of local labour through low cost technologies, training programmes of its workman in cost effective building technologies, marketing of low cost construction materials etc. , for the benefit of the people in the Districts. Kattida Maiyam carried out certain construction activities under nomination method.

(3.) IN 1998, Government passed Tamilnadu Transparency in Tenders Act which provides that all procurements by the Government must only be by way of tender. Sec. 3 makes this mandatory. Sections 9 and 10 provide for the mechanism of the tender process. Sec. 16 provides for exception to the applicability of the Act.