e-Procurement touches Rs 17,000 cr in HY '06

Andhra Pradesh has created a record of sorts by processing contracts worth Rs 17,000 crore through the e-Procurement platform in the first half of the current financial year.

This amount is almost equal to the value of works processed through the e-Procurement during the last couple of years following the introduction of e-tendering procedure by the state government.

Of the Rs 17,000-crore work contracts, the state irrigation department alone contributed Rs 15,000 crore in over 1,000 tender packages. Other government departments, including various corporations and local bodies, have invited over 5,000 bids with a total value of Rs 2,000 crore.

"What is even more encouraging is that the number of tenders being processed in the first six months has more than doubled as compared to 2,800 tenders processed in the last two years," K Bikshapati, project manager, e-Procurement, told Business Standard.

According to him, though irrigation work packages occupy the lion's share in the total e-Procurement turnover, the increased number of tenders signify the expanding base and spread of e-tendering practice.

Over seven government departments, 11 public sector units, two universities, 11 municipal corporations and 30 municipalities have been using the e-Procurement platform for awarding contracts over and above Rs 1 lakh.

Among these, AP Housing Board, AP Housing Corporation, Rajiv Gruha Kalpa programme, Hyderabad Urban Development Authority, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) and NG Ranga Agricultural University have joined the e-Procurement bandwagon.

The e-Procurement platform is designed to avoid delay in finalisation of tenders, cartels and corruption. The online tendering procedure is also contractor-friendly as it saves him from making umpteen number of trips to government offices for the purpose.

According to the project manager, the total value of works to be processed through the electronic platform in the state is expected to reach up to Rs 30,000 crore with an addition of tenders worth over Rs 4,000-5,000 crore in the next three-four years.

C1 India Limited, which manages the e-tendering process, has achieved breakeven with the phenomenal rise in the value of works being processed with an income of Rs 4.5 crore this year, Bikshapati said.

This software platform, developed by C1 India, in association with the state government, will be in its possession till 2008, after which it will be transferred to the government as per the agreement entered by both.