APSRTC to allot works through tenders

Vijayawada: In order to maintain transparency in work and expenditure incurred by the department, Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) Managing Director M Malakondaiah has decided to go for tender system in allotment of works.

The decision is believed to be very useful to the corporation as it can check present unnecessary expenditure as well as bring transparency in the works and administrative activities of the department.

Until now, the officials allot works under nomination system. According to reliable sources, Malakondaiah, who took charge as RTC MD on November 14, is taking several significant decisions to check the “unnecessary expenditure” in the corporation, which are turned bitter pills to some senior officers.

The public transport giant has accumulated Rs 3,600 crores losses and the losses in November, 2016, alone amounted to Rs 78.35 crore.

Confirming the directives of the MD, RTC Chief Engineer (civil) V Subramanya Sastry said they would call tenders for works worth above Rs 30,000 henceforth.

He said the present decision would not affect the ongoing works.

Following the State bifurcation, the corporation took up several civil works worth crores of rupees on the nomination basis.

During former MD N Sambasiva Rao’s tenure, the RTC House in Vijayawada has been built at a cost of Rs 11 crores to facilitate air conditioned offices to managing director, executive directors and other officers.

The corporation is spending Rs 80 crore in the current financial year on various developmental works.
It is improving major bus stations in the State at a cost of Rs 33 crore and spending Rs 35 crore to build 1.37 lakh sqft commercial space in the RTC House, Vijayawada.

The corporation had also taken up works in 101 bus stations at a cost of Rs 45 crore in the 2015.

“All these works have been taken up on nomination basis. These would not be affected by the latest decision of present MD Malakondaiah,” said Subramanya Sastry.

A senior officer said that Managing Director in APSRTC has unlimited powers on spending money and need not take the consent of RTC Board.

“But, our present MD is trying to avoid unnecessary expenditure," he said.

On the other hand, Malakondaiah gave another shock to executive directors, regional managers and other officers denying them to claim the Travelling Allowance (TA) bills if it is not necessary.

A senior officer said that officers claim at least Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh as TA bills for a month. Each officer claims at least Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 a month.

An official alleged that some officers claim TA bills for three days though they work only one day due to the facility available in the department. "Several officers are misusing this facility. Some officials claim TA bills for 30 days in the month," he said.

The MD has also imposed restrictions on unnecessary and waste expenditure of meetings of officials, he said. A proposal made by the officials to buy 400 tabs at a cost of Rs 90 lakh was also stopped by the MD as part of cost cutting drive.