Municipal authorities in Bengal stripped of power to float individual tenders

Kolkata: Amid complaints of massive corruption in the system of floating tenders by different municipal bodies in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday stripped them of their power to individually float tenders at the local level.

The entire tendering system will henceforth be centralised under the direct supervision of the state government, namely the Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department.

The decision was taken during a meeting at the state secretariat chaired by the Chief Minister, which was attended by the commissioners of different municipalities and police officers.

Sources said another important decision was taken at the meeting to bring the performance of all the officials of different municipalities under 'review vigilance'.

“Their performance will be reviewed by a separate committee which will have representatives from the state vigilance department, district police superintendent, representatives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and the directorate of security,

The Chief Minister has said that the performance of every official in all the municipal bodies will be under constant scanner now, informed a state government official present at the meeting.

He also said that Mamata Banerjee was furious at the performance of certain municipal authorities with regard to the rendering of public services.

“She clearly said that the works of certain municipal bodies have been restricted to appointing their own confidants and impose taxes on people instead of concentrating on rendering public service,” the official said.

She was also critical of the complaints of rampant land grabbing and construction of illegal buildings in areas under certain municipalities.

The Chief Minister reportedly expressed concern that because of this rampant land grabbing and illegal constructions, the nature and the population of the areas concerned are changing,” the official said.