In a first, South Central Railway rolls out e-auction facility

Hyderabad: For the first time, the South Central Railway (SCR) has awarded commercial contracts through e-auction. Recently the Ministry of Railways introduced an e-auction facility for awarding revenue-earning contracts in a commercial wing instead of e- tendering. In the initial phase, 11 divisions have been chosen for the implementation of the policy. The Secunderabad Division is one among them and two contracts have been successfully awarded.

According to SCR officials, this concept enables to reduce the time taken for finalising commercial contracts such as leasing of seating cum luggage rake (SLRs), advertising and parking. The e-auction has been conducted for leasing the parcel space in the rear SLR of Simhapuri Superfast Express (no.12710) that daily ply from Secunderabad to Gudur. It has been awarded to the successful bidder for the contract value of Rs 36.7 lakh for two years. In addition, an advertising contract has been awarded to another bidder after conducting an e-auction for advertising at Level Crossing Gate at Kazipet for Rs 75,000 for three years.

"The implementation of e-auction will be beneficial for both railways as well as bidders since it saves a lot of time in finalising the contracts with minimum eligibility conditions and will also help in removing entry barriers.

A one-time registration charge of Rs 10,000 enables the party to bid for any revenue contract across Indian Railways in any division/unit. Moreover, the letter of allotment/bid sheet will be issued immediately and the online signing of the contract shall be completed within 72 hours of auction. The contract can be commenced within a few days from the notification of the auction," said a senior officer, SCR.

Arun Kumar Jain, General Manager (In-charge), SCR, stated, "This concept drastically eases finalisation of revenue earning commercial contracts and saves precious time for both railways and participants. Commercial entities can utilise this opportunity for expansion of their business as the entire process is quick, transparent and mutually beneficial for both railways as well as participating bidders.

What is Railway e-auction?

The e-auction only eliminates the need for physical presence/physical bidding by purchasers. In this system, an electronic bidding system has been designed to enable participation in auctions through the internet using a digital certificate (DSC) for security. No physical presence of the purchaser is required for biding. Any purchaser can participate in e-auction for scrap lots put up for auction on the entire Indian Railway system by getting themselves one time registered on the website www.ireps.gov.in.