Mumbai: After Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s shocking revelation of spending Rs. 41,000 for planting and maintaining every single tree along the Metro-3 route, a new RTI reply highlighted that the bids placed for all three tenders were awarded at below the estimated tender cost by the corporation. Activists have raised concerns regarding the lower bid amounts citing lower quality of maintenance.

On July 29, The Free Press Journal had reported about MMRCL’s reply to an RTI query by advocate Godfrey Pimenta where the government-owned company claimed to have spent a sum of Rs 12.01 Crore on tree plantation along the route of Metro 3 or Aqua Line (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz).

However, after the Corporation had failed to provide the details of the actual number of trees planted along the route and their location, it later claimed that only 584 trees were planted under the said cost which averaged to Rs. 2 lakh per tree.

MMRCL faces scrutiny over spending Rs. 41,000 per tree for a total of 2,931 trees, raising questions about the bidding process

In a turn of events, after The Free Press Journal’s report, MMRCL released a statement where it claimed that the amount of Rs. 12.01 crore has been awarded for three contracts for the total 2,931 trees with an average of Rs. 41,000 per tree.

However, several activists had raised questions over it claiming that the revised cost was also too overpriced and it is 40 times higher than what the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation pays for every tree.

Recently, while replying to another RTI request sought by Pimenta, MMRCL said that it had awarded three different tenders for supply, delivery, plantation and maintenance of advance size nursery grown trees. The tenders were awarded to two agencies namely M/s New Park Sun Gardens for tree package 19 and M/s Hiravati Enterprises for tree package 20 and 21.

However, the RTI reply highlights that the winning bids for the tenders were as low as 31% from the estimated cost put to tender. The Sion-based New Park Sun Gardens had offered to bid the tender at the cost of Rs. 3.69 crores, which is 31.59% lower than the estimated cost of Rs. 5.40 crores.

Andheri-based Hiravati Enterprises was awarded the tenders at Rs. 3.37 crores, which was 3.60% below the cost put to tender of Rs. 3.50 crores for Package 20. Whereas, the same company was awarded the tender for package 21 at the offer price of Rs. 4.94 crores, which is 8.36% lower than the estimated cost.

Raising concerns over the lower bidding cost by the agencies, Pimenta said, “Usually bids for any tenders are placed above the tender cost set by the government authority but here the bid is lower than the tender cost which is surprising. If somebody is bidding below the cost, there are chances that there is compromise on the quality of plantation and maintenance of the trees. The maintenance can be in fact nil which we have seen in the trees planted in Aarey forest.”