New Delhi: RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has demanded the Narendra Modi government cancel the financial bid of a Chinese company, Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd (STEC), which emerged as the lowest bidder for the construction of an underground stretch of Delhi-Meerut RRTS (Regional Rapid Transit System) project.
The SJM has requested the government to cancel the company’s bid if it is serious about making India self-reliant.
SJM national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan told ThePrint they have requested Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to cancel the Chinese company’s bid over two issues.
“First is, when we are promoting ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ to encourage domestic companies, how can the government award contracts to a Chinese company? Second is security and quality issues. After the Covid pandemic, the trust factor is one of the major concerns with Chinese firms. We have earlier opposed Huawei participation in 5G trials on security issues and now we are pitching for the domestic industries,” he added.
“We have started a campaign to boycott Chinese products and accept local ones. This is the need of the hour. The prime minister himself announced the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign. There is no fault in tendering process, but the fault lies in giving the tender to a Chinese company, which will be against the concept of self-reliant India,” Mahajan said.
Also read: RSS affiliate appeals to Modi govt to not import Covid-19 testing kits, masks from China
STEC quoted Rs 1,126 crore for the project
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited had floated a tender for the first underground civil construction project in November last year and its technical bid was opened in March. The project will connect Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut.
The STEC and four other companies had qualified for the technical bid. The Chinese firm last week qualified for the financial bid too as it was the lowest bidder. The bidding was for the construction of the 5.6-km-long underground stretch between New Ashok Nagar–Sahibabad.
The STEC quoted Rs 1,126 crore for the project, while L&T quoted Rs 1,170 crore, Gulermak Rs 1,326 crore, Tata Projects Rs 1,346 crore and Afcons Infrastructure Rs 1,400 crore. The STEC is likely to bag the tender for the project as it’s the lowest bidder.
After the award of the ‘Letter of Acceptance’, the project has to be completed within three years.
“Earlier also, the Government of India rejected several tenders to promote the ‘Make in India’ programme. This is the perfect opportunity to promote domestic companies even if their quote is slightly higher. Also, we can’t trust the Chinese any more. We are attracting investments from other countries. If we will award contracts to them, how the concept of making India self-reliant will work,” he asked.
‘No chance of cancelling tender’
An official in the transport and highways ministry, however, ruled out any chance of rejecting the STEC’s financial bid because of it being a Chinese company, unless it is found that it has adopted “unfair means”.
“This project is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Thirty-nine per cent funding is done by the ADB. If the company hasn’t adopted any unfair means to qualify for the bids, then it is out of question to reject the tendering process,” said the official, who didn’t want to be named.
“This is a crucial highway project, which has to be completed under the time-frame,” he added.
Also read: Punish Chinese firms, end trade concessions over China’s stance on Kashmir: RSS affiliate
Cancel the project. Change the specification and work pacakage. Brand it as a new project with new specifications. Bar Chinese companies.
Well people who are thinking must know better for sure.
Sack this Chinese agent in the Ministry. Send CBI and investigate how much he has received from the Chinese.
Yes I am agree with RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM). Because Mr. PM Narendra Modi is saying we should self reliant that is Atmanirbhar and on other hand you are giving contract to Chinese company, Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd (STEC)
Request mr. Gadakari, to cancel Chinese bid and give the tender to the lowest Indian bidder, govt can’t act in a hypocritic way, now we are in a war with Chinese,let’s erode them economically.
I think India should instead give all lac road building to Chinese firms if they are cheapest bidder. This way we can kill two birds with the same stone.
Chinese companies building infrastructure to India border projects including of Aksai Chin for us.
चीनी हिन्दू भाई भाई ……
बचपन में कभी कहा सुना करते थे ….
परन्तु *चीनी*
कभी न भाई था …. न है ….. न कभी हो सकता ….
Chinese as always have tried to gain foothold in various countries and they should not be given a single project and all ties with these people should be ended and as a matter of fact they people have always undermined the relations and therefore should be penalised by announcing them an alien nation and this tender should not be given to them primarily from national security point of view and secondly in the effort to revive Indian economy, focus should be to give the tender to an Indian company and these people should not be allowed a single contract and all trades with them should be reduced over time by shifting the supply chains as India has been having a deficit in trade and our deficit has been around $50 bn ( INR 375000 crore approx) and therefore, there is no need to give more money to these people by giving them tenders and India like Japan and other countries should give incentives to its companies to shift their manufacturing and supply chains from CHINA , THE VIRUS OF THE WORLD.
I think like Hindustan Construction Company , Govt. Needs to open a new company for projects like this. Chinese companies can bring COVID like viruses anytime to kill our economy through biological warfare, so better to avoid than cure.
There is small difference of bidding price of STEC and L&T. Negotiate with L&T and they will come to STEC price or even lower.
Exactly
Exactly.
Why can’t govt. award this project to L&T.
I am heavily disappointed by this act of Govt.
L&t will not gives the oprtunity as compare to this and this STEC company is from singpore …and its has 80percent indian staff 3000labour in mumbai and delhi also ….if you reject this them what about these guys 2nd thing just L&T will haraass the employess they will do more 112hrs on daily …….these chines company have 20percent staff only from china soo keep in mind go and google its….is that govt gives these job to those guys …..in every project they recuret the more empolyes 2nd L&t will not do this they will only transfer and less staff
Negocian cannot be done at this stage.because such clause of reverse bid type option had to be given in bid document.i think that not in bid document.we have to accept it .
Don’t the Chinese find innovative reasons to keep India out of Chinese Markets? Why do we have such lopsided balance of trade? We sound like a bunch of losers. Go figure and cancel the contract and find legal grounds to justify it. There will be million of ways to do this in a valid way under international framework and obligations. This is not time for niceties and have pleasantry exchanges. You are directly funding chinese defence budget and development through such actions which will show up in Ladakh border in three months again. It is time to stand-up or perish. Hopefully they don’t march all the way and make claims on TN border.
Swadeshi Jagaran Manch ie RSS is indulging in Politics. It is on the one hand trying to make it a movement of sort and asking people to boycott Chinese goods while no other country’s product is marked as such and on the other hand it was quiet all the while from the time of filing tender for bidders and now when a Chinese firm is selected on the basis of criteria decided by Modi Govt. it is trying to justify its movement by requesting Modi Govt. to cancel the bid. Why should an Individual citizen participate or support RSS’s movement of so called ‘Self Reliance’ which it is at the out set a bogus. RSS is copying Mahatma Gandhi’s call to boycott foreign goods but then RSS did not participate in the movement since it did not participate in freedom struggle. At that time the Govt. was not elected by the people of India but it was a British Govt. and their policy was to make India a poor country at the cost of making Britain a rich nation. But now we have a govt. that is elected by us the people of India and it is the program me of Modi Govt. why Modi must not have a declared policy to not to allow any Chinese firms in India and also make laws so as not to allow traders in India to sell chinese goods. Modi Govt. must make its intention clear by making law and not to allow SJM to indulge in politicking and play with the public sentiment of National interest. RSS must stop gimmicking.