‘Tender norms flouted for Games tableau’

Senior BJP leader and former Sports Minister Vijay Goel has charged that the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee had flouted the norms for tender for the Republic Day Parade tableau.

He also sought a probe into the high cost of nearly Rs.1 crore of the tableau.

Addressing a press conference here over the weekend, Mr. Goel alleged that the norms were issued in June 2009 and four companies had submitted tenders and the work allotment was issued to an experienced Noida-based company which had tendered on July 29, 2009. “The company was asked to go ahead and contact the Ministry of Defence and Sports and it has 28 years experience of making tableaux,” he added.

When the company contacted the two Ministries, it got no response and was later told that the work had been allotted to some other company. This, Mr. Goel said, despite the Noida company being made to submit four models between July and November 2009 by the Organising Committee. Mr. Goel said the new company, which did not have the requisite experience, had been given the work arbitrarily by the Organising Committee and “in all likelihood, the new company has copied either of the three model plans submitted by the Noida-based company”.