The usage of Information Technology in the working of the BBMP has been found much wanting over the years. “I agree that there has been a lack of IT initiatives in the working of the Palike. However, from this moment we will try our best to enable the BBMP with IT benefits and increase work efficiency,” said the Palike Commissioner, Bharath Lal Meena.
Launching the e-Procurement and the new Palike portals, the Palike Administrator, B M Shivkumar said that the websites will provide the much needed watchful eye on the Rs 2,000 crore works undertaken in the City every year. “The websites will provide the transparency in the Palike works and also give a comparative indicator on infrastructure between various states in the country,” said Shivkumar.
The e-Procurement portals will have the entire tender process for projects worth Rs 10 lakh and above on the website. Bids for the contracts to opening of the tenders to even e-payments to the contractors as and when the works are completed will all be made available to the public on the completion of each step in the tender process.
The Palike will be holding training sessions to familiarise the contractors registered with the BBMP on the entire e-Procurement process. The training period will be a “one-day affair” at the M S Building in Bangalore for the contractors. So far, the BBMP has trained nearly 1,850 government officials, 258 contractors and another 92 trainers for the training process itself.
Each of the contractors bidding for projects above Rs 10 lakh have been provided with a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) to log onto the e-Procurement portal. However, only the Executive Engineer and officials above grade at the BBMP will be given the DSC to operate the process. “The keys are given to EE and above levels as they are the only people who are authorised to call for tenders,” informed Meena.
The e-Procurement portal has been developed by the Palike with help from the e-Governance department and HP as their service partner. The Web-based Project Monitoring System is being developed after a MoU being signed with the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation (KSPHC).