Madras HC orders status quo on tenders for PDS cargo contracts

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court had ordered the status quo on tender proceedings initiated for awarding contracts for transport contractors for the transportation of sugar from cooperative and commercial mills.

The first bench of Justice Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the direction on hearing a petition filed by R Nathiyazhagan from Chinnavakkam village at Ponneri Taluk in Thiruvallur district.

The petitioner sought direction to quash the tender notification issued by the state civil supplies corporation for transporting sugar and other materials from mills to various godowns, and Amutham stalls.

According to the petitioner, the tender was issued against Clauses 4 and 8 Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998.

“The tender notification was issued as per the circular issued by the Union Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution System on May 6, 2019. The circular asked the states to frame a State Level Committee to fix tender costs in the civil supplies corporation. As the SLC has taken away the rights of the tender inviting authority, the Supreme Court stayed the circular but the TN civil supplies corporation had issued the notification as per the union government circular, “ the petitioner submitted.

The petitioner insisted that the state’s move of adopting the union government’s circular stayed by the Supreme Court is contrary to the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998.

The petitioner pointed out that the civil supplies corporation should give 30 days for participating in tenders that are worth above Rs 2 crores.

The civil corporation has granted only 14 days for participating in this tender even though the tender value is above Rs 2 crores, the petitioner argued through his counsel. The bench ordered the status quo on the ground that the tender notification was issued based on a circular stayed by the top court.